"He's on the street." Click.
That's how Jimmy Ryan, a now-retired Camden firefighter, would respond when someone would call the station looking for a firefighter.
Gabriel Angemi took the inspiration for a photography exhibition — with some works by firefighters, including himself, and other works depicting them doing their jobs — from that slice of firehouse life.
And, he explained, on the street is really where firefighters are at their best: not just beating back flames, saving property and lives, but engaging with the communities they serve, observing and interacting.
"That's where they're supposed to be," said Angemi, captain of the Camden Fire Department's Engine Company 7. "On the street."
"On the Street: Through the Eyes of Firefighters" opens Sunday and runs through Oct. 26 at FireWorks, a historic South Camden firehouse-turned-art gallery. It features the work of 10 photographers. Some are both firefighters and photographers, like Angemi, Angelo Perez and Bill Noonan; others, like Lloyd Mitchell, are photojournalists whose work centers on fire service.