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Dowm here in Maryland, we can be dispatched to a reported building/structure/whatever fire, and units will call it a working fire if everyone's going to work. Just as our communications center won't call a person who is unresponsive and not breathing a cardiac arrest, they won't call a reported incident a working fire; that's not to say that they can't pass on information from people on the scene ("multiple callers reporting fire through the roof" sort of thing). So, to summarize - the report of a building fire is what we're dispatched to. A working fire is what we confirm once we know everyone's going to work.

I hope this isn't too out of context, but no, I don't think we celebrate people's misfortunes - or at least I don't think we do. We celebrate our victory over people's adverse conditions and misfortune. What is better, to arrive at a house with heavy fire blowing out of every window and door and save the house, or to find the same situation and wind up saving a concrete foundation? What is better, to cheat (postpone) death that .001% of the time and bring a trauma code back, or to hand a dead body over to the police? Personally, I like to think that I celebrate, document and market (cheerlead, if you will) for public safety. I'm not at a crash to capture the vehicles involved, nor the people involved. I'm there for the public safety personnel (fire, police and EMS/rescue), and I like to think that my photographs reflect that.

Just my opinion, but the difference lies not only in their presentation, but in their reputation. People somewhat expect more grusome or one sided presentation of facts or stories, whereas the fire service is held to a higher standard, to include morally. I know I went through a background check prior to even getting voted in as a volunteer, but I'm not sure if the news media subjects it's employees to background investigations.

It seems to me that it depends on how the images (and the associated article) are crafted and presented. If you simply put something like "The Jones' house burnt down, and we caught some good fire", then yes, I'd agree it can border on disrespectful. If your article is something more professional, and maybe includes some tips on how to avoid a situation like this (so that others can learn from the Jones' house fire), then maybe it's not disrespectful. Just my view. For the record, I'm my department's PIO, photographer and one of the two webmasters.