Many onlookers pulled out their phones and snapped pictures as flames roared through the roof of the North End Pavilion on the Ocean Grove boardwalk Saturday.
But some were firefighters, and they posed for selfies or group photos - some as flames continued to shoot from the historic building that was recently refurbished after surviving Superstorm Sandy.
Other firefighters noticed, and called them out, like this Twitter post from a career firefighter in Mercer County:
“I’m sure the owners of the businesses that burned at the NJ Boardwalk yesterday appreciate that you all had enough time to pose for these great pics of yourselves with their livelihood going up in smoke in the background. Very classy."
The pictures caught the attention of Dave Statter, a retired television news reporter in Washington, D.C. who once worked as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Maryland. He runs the firefighting website, Statter911, and he’s written about the issue before.