An attempt at the difficult fire, moon and water juxtaposition that was a popular test of skill for painters during the late eighteenth century. Pitcairn's distinctive outline is silhouetted on the horizon. For the painting's structure the fire takes the soot and embers aloft before their gravity force them down thus forming the arc I use to tie together the major elements of the picture. The spectators are, as usual with fire watches, undemonstrative and hypnotised by the flames.