Whilst Knighton-Hammond was engaged in painting a portrait of the Right Honourable David Lloyd George at his home in Churt, Surrey in September 1933, a heath fire broke out in the evening. Whilst Lloyd George sprang into action directing a large group of men working to control and contain a forest fire, Knighton-Hammond sprang into action with his pastels. The medium was ideally suited to rapidly fix the scene as he first encountered it. The principal structure and tones could be noted in a matter of minutes. The artist has conjured the atmosphere of the hurried actions of the figures and his focus on the fire and smoke creating a scintillating effect of light all captured in strong colours and contrasts. Knighton-Hammond has used the pastel firmly creating thick lines with little or no blending. The artist’s interest in painting in pastel came about a few years earlier from his friendship with architect and artist Edgar Wood. He knew Wood from his time living in the Manchester area in the 1910s, and later as a near neighbour when Wood was living at Porto Maurizio, close to the Franco/Italian border in Italy. Wood was an accomplished artist in pastel and was a good draughtsman which he owed to his architectural skills. Lloyd George acquired the picture from the artist and it remained in the family until recently.