It was a Tuesday on August 14, 2008, and Jeremy had just finished getting his equipment ready to start taking photographs of Linda and David’s outdoor forest wedding. It was his first real job as a photographer, and he was very anxious and enthusiastic. He didn’t know what to expect. Just as he was screwing his camera onto the tripod, a young kid, about 6 or 7 years old, ran past him and bumped into one of the legs of the tripod. The camera lost its balance and fell on the forest floor, scratching the lens in the process. Jeremy began to panic, for this was the only camera he had brought with him. He quickly grabbed his cell phone and called his colleague, asking him to deliver another camera pronto. Seeing as his colleague would take a while to arrive with the extra equipment, he decided to use his flip phone for the time being.
Jeremy decided to take a couple of practice shots with his flip phone, as Linda stormed toward him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Linda asked in a snarky tone.
Jeremy looked around nervously, debating whether or not he should tell Linda what actually happened. He decided to tell her the truth.
“My camera got scratched when a young kid bumped into my tripod, causing the camera to fall off,” Jeremy said with a guilty look on his face, “but don’t worry, one of my colleague’s is on his way with a replacement. For now, I am using my cell phone for photographs.”
Linda seemed distressed, but turned to walk away. As she was storming off, a tree branch caught on the trail of her dress, ripping the bottom off completely. She was speechless. Linda could feel an anxiety attack coming, and quickly grabbed her purse to pull out a cigarette. She went towards the back of the forest, behind a tree, and began smoking. The smoke exhaling out of her lungs calmed and relaxed her. Putting out her cigarette, she was ready to return to the service.
Jeremy’s heart started racing, as he saw the reception coming closer. Jeremy decided to call and check up on the status of his colleague, only to find out that his colleague was stuck in traffic. He saw everyone getting into their places for the wedding, and the pianist prepared to play the classic ‘Here Comes the Bride’ song. From behind him, he heard a scream. Turning his head quickly, he noticed that one of the tablecloths had caught on fire. It seemingly appeared to him that the fire had emerged from within the forest, and was quickly spreading.
The guests begin panicking, as well as the groom and bride. As the fire came closer and closer to the reception, everyone began to group away from the fire to the other side of the forest. Jeremy, still feeling guilty about the incident with the camera, attempted to put out the fire by patting on it with a clean tablecloth. His plan quickly backfired when he realized that the fire had spread onto the tablecloth he was holding, and was spreading on his suit. Flames emerged onto Jeremy as he tried desperately to put it out by dropping to the floor and rolling, but to no avail.
From the highway, Jeremy’s coworker could see thick, black smoke hovering the area that he knows Jeremy is in. He immediately picked up his phone and dialed 911 to get the firetruck to start coming. Traffic is still heavy, and he tries calling Jeremy after dialing 911. No answer. Panic starts to fill his body.
At the wedding, the fire spread more and more and there were fewer places for all the guests to run for safety. Many are crying, especially after watching Jeremy burn to death. From a far distance, some can hear firetrucks and sirens. The sirens become clearer as they get closer. The firefighters arrive to the scene and immediately begin to put out the fire. Guests are still shaking in shock, as the firefighters try to calm them down and sit them down. Most have been taken away from the scene and were placed in an ambulance to check for any injuries. Coroners place a cloth over Jeremy’s body as cops investigate the scene to try and find out what caused the fire. They find nothing but a used cigarette and an open flip phone with images of the reception...