Page 7 - Steam Pipe Explosion News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Blows firefighters to the ground. >> i remember hearing another one of our battalion chiefs that was near me calling for ambulances. i thought, oh, boy, this is not good. >> officials believe the massive explosion is caused by a back draft that ignited the volatile magnesium dust. >> the degree of smoke, the color of it, the way it was puffing out of the building, it had all the right looks and the right recipe for that to just instantaneously blow. >> cameraman matt armitage is shooting the explosion for indiana's news channel. >> all of a sudden smoke started pouring out of the building all ...

>> 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. >> the ball of fire originally started out small....

The early stage, hopefully you can knock it and you can control it. this time we weren't that lucky. >> luck is nowhere to be found. the fire department doesn't have enough extinguishing powder on 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...

Chest just got socked in the chest, like i got socked in the chest really hard, like just powerful, so powerful. >> get down! get down! >> it was incredibly bright and forceful. it was almost like somebody shoving you off your feet. >> oh, my god! >> oh, my god! >> people see, hear and feel the blast for miles. >> whoa! >> it was so huge. it was unbelievable. >> you can feel the heat wave and the shock wave. >> holy smokes, i hope everybody's okay! >> the axle from the propane truck launches hundreds of feet into the air and lands on a busy street, narrowly missing cars. >> i look up in the ai...

>> a surveillance camera shows what happened. the top of the screen, out of nowhere, the street explodes as if a giant bomb goes off. >> 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...