The fire's first moments

Judd Weiskopf was on Beacon Street when the first fire trucks arrived at 298 Beacon - including Ladder 24 from Cambridge Street - as well as Engine 33 and Ladder 15 from Boylston Street.

His series of photos, taken between 2:48 and 3:07 p.m., show the smoke intensifying rapidly - they would culminate in a wind-blown conflagration that claimed the lives of two firefighters.