Page 512 - Fireman News Today

>> the camera guy, he got a little squeamish about the whole thing. so i grabbed the camera, and i started shooting after that. i was more concerned about making sure i got the scene on tape. >> sergeant john holland is the only fireman on duty in white lake township when the call comes in. >> when i first arrived there, i see the aircraft, the nose down. i can still see the pilot in the plane. with that type of impact, an aircraft has basically fallen out of the sky hitting the water, my bigges...

>> reporter: the blast was so powerful, firefighters were blown back 20 feet. giving one of them a concussion. >> i have an explosion. looks like the east side of motel 6 just exploded. >> reporter: a 16-room chunk of the motel was torn off. >> im glad youre okay. >> reporter: witnesses say the only reason dozens werent killed is because motel clerk tonya hinds smelled gas and got everyone out. you did not hesitate? >> no, i didnt. i was told this many years ago and it was in my head, when in do...

Working hard to keep up progress. >> im not looking for an end in sight. >> im not looking for an end in fire behavior as were seeing now if we dont see significant rainfall. >> reporter: other parts of the west are seeing no relief. in california, more than 12,000 wilfighters are battling 18 active wildfires. and a dramatic picture in idaho as this fire roll sent flames shooting 100 feet in the air. back in washington, this is all happening at the peak of tourist season. chelan, the resort town...

The five-year average is just 53,000 acres. since july 1st, california has spent $133 million on firefighting. the state has called in the national guard and brought in crews from several other states. >> when we have a new start, especially with all these other fires going, cal fire reacts very aggressively while we launch over $2 million worth of their equipment to just a single report of a fire anywhere in the state. >> reporter: but resources are spread thin across the west. and for the firs...

>> reporter: this is joe fryer in simi valley, california. wildfires are tearing through miles of parched wilderness grassland and creeping dangerously close to neighborhoods. >> you can see the flames just about maybe 20 feet away from that one fence. >> reporter: a small brush fire in simi valley spread quickly friday, hundreds of homes in its path. >> started over there, and it just came like a whirlwind through. the only thing we had on our side was it was not windy that day. >> reporter: wi...

Soldiers to help with a fire in washington state. fires are burning in seven states. in california alone, theyre destroying 1,000 acres an hour. extreme heat is making the battle all the more difficult. it has been a very hot day in much of the country. more about that in a moment. first danielle nottingham on the fire lines in washington state. t reporter: six wildfires have surrounded the city of chelan. this is the view from the lake where at least three dozen homes were destroyed and 2,700 p...

Crews responded to a fire which contained 700 tons of sodium cyanide which explodes on exposure to water. it appears as if the fireman unaware it was there inadvertently caused the fatal blast. the explosion could be felt six miles away and could be seen from space. it has been claimed warehouses were built illegally and far too close to worker accommodations. ordered nationwide checks on safety and hopefully can make a difference in china where we know this is a problem. >> thank you. carly f...

Temperatures sending thousands of families straight to the beach. >> its worse than normal. yeah, suddenly, summer has started for us in southern california. >> reporter: while crowds look for relief from historic temperatures and record drought, it will be a long summer for firefighters gearing up not only here in california, but across the west, battling what already seems to be a never-ending fire season. now, the fire burning here in angeles national forrest is still at 0% containment. and p...

Two more today. and one man pulled out alive. this footage capturing the moment of terror, the blinding light. as we now know, the explosion felt for miles. and abcs bob woodruff on the many questions tonight, the miss fri that still remains about how this erupted in the first place. hes on the scene in china. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: tonight the man who shot those powerful images taking us upstairs over shattered glass to the roof where he witnessed it all. one explosion after another. then ...

For letting us be here. i think there are a number of things we wanted to accomplish. first and i think maybe the most important, we can look at national news now and tell that for far too long prisons have kind of existed as closed institutions. and weve got to make sure that the public is allowed in behind those bars to make sure that they understand not only what is going on but why it is important to the safety of their neighborhoods that they live in. so that was a huge goal in this to begi...