Page 25 - Mark Ashley News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Below is a broken ladder and the crumbling wood of a burning balcony. >> for a split second i was like, what are we going to do? what are we going to do? at that time i started running toward the building. >> mark ashley is clouded in smoke, teetering just six feet away from flames. now a man who spent nearly a decade rescuing others waits for his own rescue. >> three truck, come on back down and get that guy out of there. >> truck three, shut off your water and bring it down. >> chief walker orders another truck on the scene to help, but the radio malfunctions and the orders never reach truck...

>> i was just saying to myself, god, let it hit the building. because i knew if the ladder came all the way down, he's going to die. >> it hit the edge of the roof, it bounced, and it stayed. >> the roof of the burning building does save him from an almost certain death, but the relief is short-lived. >> dispatcher, this is 102. send another ambulance to this location. >> now all that stands between mark and the concrete 35 feet below is a broken ladder and the crumbling wood of a burning balcony. >> for a split second i was like, what are we going to do? what are we going to do? at that time ...

>> second alarm. >> flames threaten a neighboring building, so firefighter mark ashley is told to get up on another ladder to prevent any more destruction. >> looking good up here right now. >> looks like laser beams. >> ashley hooks himself in and tells personnel below to turn on his water. firefighter robert bates is standing directly behind the truck. >> mark was on the very tip of the ladder, and i remember hearing the sound of metal and a twisting. it made a very eerie sound. >> bates looks on in horror as mark's ladder buckles. >> it kind of just turned over and just started to descend t...

>> truck three, shut off your water and bring it down. >> chief walker orders another truck on the scene to help, but the radio malfunctions and the orders never reach truck three. >> dispatcher, this is 102. give me an emergency tone. >> time is running out. >> we didn't know if mark was being burned to death. we didn't know if he was incapacitated or unconscious, if he was injured. you know, we had a matter of seconds. >> robert bates and other firefighters quickly raise a rescue ladder and climb to the top. firefighter rick carpo reaches the weakened roof first. now, he, too, is in danger. ...

Down and get that guy out of there. >> truck three, shut off your water and bring it down. >> chief walker orders another truck on the scene to help, but the radio malfunctions and the orders never reach truck three. >> dispatcher, this is 102. give me an emergency tone. >> time is running out. >> we didn't know if mark was being burned to death. we didn't know if he was incapacitated or unconscious, if he was injured. we had a matter of seconds. >> robert bates and other firefighters quickly raise a rescue ladder and climb to the top. firefighter rick carpo reaches the weakened roof first. no...