"Fire Ravages Beach House"

I’ll bet that headline caught your attention. There are two things that I automatically think when I see this article. One, I love the vocabulary used. “Ravages” it is such a strong word, full of raw emotion. Also, when I think of a beach house, I think of vacation, a paradise, where people can get away from the every day stress of life and rejuvenate. But with the descriptive word “Fire”, the pretense of peace and solitude is erased.

The author of the article artfully begins the piece by setting the scene. “An early morning fire ravaged a beach house occupied by more than a dozen students yesterday, killing seven and sending several to the hospital.” The reader immediately is filled with pity and emotion for several reasons. The people affected are young. They are in university, full of hope and expectation, on the cusp of life, and before it could begin, their life is snatched away from them. Also, if the reader is older, or has children, they can identify with the parents of the children, therefore, sharing in their pain and terror.

Following the introduction, the reporter had a quote from an eye-witness. Here raw emotion is described as he explains that “There were three kids sitting on the ground screaming.” Not only does the man use the word “Kids”, which makes the fire so much more disastrous because it is affecting the young and helpless, but in this one quote the reader is able to visualize the scene that the quote has set; children, young and defenseless, sitting on the curb screaming in terror as they watch their house burn down, with close friends still barricaded inside.

As for the structure of the story, Briana Brough began the article with the story, emotionally luring readers in. Then about halfway through the article, she began delivering the facts. Answering the 5 Ws she told readers when the fire began, where it took place and where it was located, who was involved, where they went to school, etc.

Brough presents an unbiased view of the story. Because the inhabitants of the house are college students, one might presumably infer that it was the student’s fault, and blame their age, the lack of responsibility in today’s youth or a plethora of other excuses. Instead, she cultivates the event into an emotionally raw, yet informational piece that does not blame anyone for the tragedy, but rather reports it as her profession requires.