At 11:30 as I was about to go to bed, I saw a giant column of sparks a couple of streets over and ventured out to investigate.

The big house on the corner of First and Clement was burning. Radford’s a party school, and this is the fratty area of town, so many of the spectators had beer and seemed to be enjoying the drama. Others were simply amazed. You could feel the heat from a block away.

From the construction fabric ringing the property and the fact that nobody in the talkative crowd seemed to know who lived there, I got the impression the house was vacant. The reek of gasoline hinted at arson, which is a shame. I love old houses and I hate to see them go.

My instincts, honed through photography class beat-downs, kicked in and I took about 150 pictures. Here are a few of my favorites on flickr. You have to click through to the original size to really see the colors.