Eric Goodman is a photographer for the Metro-Dade firefighters (IAFF Local 1403) in the Miami-Dade area, Florida. Firefighter-EMT had the exclusive opportunity to ask him a few questions:

Could you describe your background a bit?
I am the photographer for Metro-Dade Firefighters, IAFF Local 1403, a title I’ve held since March 2003. I am not a firefighter or EMT; never have been.

What made you want to take and collect photographs of fire apparatus? How long have you been doing it?
I received my first camera at age 9 (a birthday gift from my parents); an Ansco 127 roll film camera. With two relatives in the fire service (FDNY) who always told fascinating stories about buffing, their experience as auxiliary firefighters and eventually as dispatchers, I combined the fascination with my photographic interests. While I didn’t necessarily go out of my way to shoot
apparatus photos back then, I would keep a watchful eye out for a fire truck whenever I’d take my camera with me.

Could you put your two favorite photographs into context? What is your favorite apparatus type?
With some 50,000 slides, hundreds of negatives and 37,000 digital images, it’s hard to pick a favorite photo, but since I started doing ride-alongs with MDFR Station 30 in 1997, I guess any picture of their engine would be a favorite. Having grown up in Brooklyn, New York in the 1950s and 1960s, I do have a soft spot for the C-Model Mack Pumper. That was pretty much all I ever saw.

Miami-Dade’s Engine 30 on a call

It seems as though you’ve traveled a lot in taking these photographs - how do you decide where to go?
The images from outside of Miami-Dade are taken while on vacations, either land tours or cruises. My wife, Carol, and I prefer cruise vacations and it’s not unusual for me to seek out the nearest fire station once we arrive in port and ask for a roll-out. I have taken trips where a fire engine muster is the primary destination, but those are a bit rare.

Do you continue to take photographs?
I do a ride-along with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue once per week, typically on Saturday. I load what I consider the best images onto its website and submit them to the JumpLine, the Local’s quarterly newsletter. My photos have been published in Fire Engineering Magazine, in at least one coffee table book about fire apparatus and appear on numerous websites including my own.

Station 30 crew toasts the old Engine 30 after changing out to the new Engine 30 (in the background). Pictured are (l to r) Driver/Engineer Clyde Porter, F/F Onelio Tam, F/F Heinrich Orth and Capt. Paul Gurdak.

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