Page 22 - Steam Pipe Explosion News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Starts right above the assistant chief's head. >> and i can remember the loud boom, the vibration in the ground and the heat on the back of my neck. >> holy cow! >> the high-voltage wires unleash a fury of arcing energy. >> the thing the tape doesn't show is the vibration. i mean, we were all, like -- it was, like, did we get shocked, or what was that? it just doesn't show how loud or how much energy was released when that thing let go. you could really feel it. it was like the bass at a rock concert. it was just shaking. >> everyone is stunned by the unbelievable surge of power and flames. >>...

>> you could see absolutely a terrorized expression on all these people's faces because they didn't know what it was. they probably thought it was a bomb in the subway system. >> with september 11th never far from new yorkers' minds, many think the explosion is another terrorist attack. >> yeah, you think it's terrorism. that's the first thought that goes through anybody's mind. >> people run for cover as the dirt, rocks and asphalt blasts into the sky and rains down. and after the explosion, a nonstop gigantic geyser of steam shoots up nearly 80 stories, an incredible sight to see. so loud an...

If that thing was going to blow, we were dead right there. 200 feet away. >> the noise from the pressure building inside the tanker is deafening. >> there was the hissing of the fire, just kind of started building and building and building. >> firefighters back away from the flaming tanker. >> all units evacuate to at least 10,000 feet. 10,000 feet evacuation for engine two. imminent explosion. >> we got about 200 feet of it out, and unbelievably, it got louder. it got so loud. >> before firefighters were able to get to a safe distance, the propane truck erupts into the biggest explosion many ...

>> the explosion ignites a huge fire at the foundry. >> there's this huge billowing black cloud of smoke. it was just amazing. >> we knew it was going to be a very big fire. it was a huge column of smoke, huge. >> we have flames shooting over the roof. we've got a report from the plant personnel that their propane tank has gone up. >> several bystanders and nearby residents begin filming the flames. >> it was pretty impressive and it was noisy. you could really hear the flames. it was like a jet engine almost. >> first responders find the propane-filled tanker truck engulfed in flames when the...

Hand to control the flames. as it burns out of control, the order is given to pull back. >> my gut said get away from the building, something's going to happen. >> but before everyone clears out -- >> the smoke began to suck in, which is an indication the fire was drawing for oxygen. and i had enough time to go, "oh," and do a 180, and it was over. >> the building explodes into smithereens. >> it was incredible, incredible, but it was more worrisome. we kind of looked at each other and thought, uh-oh. did we lose somebody? >> we've got people laying everywhere. i need rescue. >> the force of t...