i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of caught on camera. we have the facilities. >> brave responders. exploding projectiles. >> it was just like a rocket coming down. >> massive flames. >> it was hairy. it was hairy. >> i just closed my eyes and clench and go oh, boy. >> enormous fireballs. >> we just had a huge explosion.

>> i thought, this is it. i better at least catch it on tape. caught on camera, boom! welcome to caught on camera. i'm con testa brewer. just going through our daily routine, we can be surrounded by dangerous materials and equipment and not even be aware of it. normally we have nothing to be afraid of, because materials are safe when used and stored properly. but if one little thing goes wrong, the consequences can be disastrous. a fire breaks out at southwest industrial gases in dallas, texas on july 25, 2007. this is no ordinary fire.

on the lot are several hundred tanks filled with gases. >> acetylene burns at about 3400 degrees. it's used, as far as what the common person knows, mostly in welding and cutting. >> local tv news cameras record the blaze as it puburns out of control. >> we didn't, of course realize the scope of what the fire was going to be. >> the fire begins during a delivery of tanks to the refilling station. >> the delivery driver comes running in and says hey, man, i've got a leak, i think i broke a valve and i can't shut it off. what do you want me to do. >> randy bibb grabs a fire

extinguisher. >> a kind of haze, greenish. i grab the fire hose and start fogging it. you know what's going to happen. it's getting ready to go. >> sure enough. in just a few seconds, it does. >> whoosh! and the first fireball hit me, knocked me hard, dropped the hose and i reached down to get the hose and the skin on my hand was melted off my hand like wax. >> randy and others at the facility try to extinguish the flames, but it's no use. >> i got scared. i didn't know what was going to happen. >> in less than a minute another tank unleashes a fireball. randy's clothes ignite. >> it at this time me back maybe 6, 8 feet. i'm watch being the flames flicker out of my shorts. >> one tank after another begins to explode. >> explosions were going up over the top of the building. every time one of those would explode way up tie over the top of the building, the heat raid

yants would light me up. >> they were all able to get out before the entire place erupts into an inferno. minutes later, dallas fire rescue arrives. >> once we got there, we weren't sure what was going on or why it was happening, but we knew we had a big problem with a lot of cylinders. >> randy and his colleagues were rushed to the hospital with third-degree burns. >> big bubbles everywhere. it was crazy. from there, the pain starts. once the adrenaline runs off. >> even with everyone out of the facility, fire officials are up against a formidable beast. >> initially, i had never seen anything like it. it was, you know, what the heck is going on. >> tanks are designed to release gas as they heat up to release pressure. but under these extreme conditions with so many tanks

and so much fire the released gas ignites and causes a chain reaction that cooks the tanks beyond their limit, resulting in massive explosions. >> each time one of the acetylene cylinders reached approximately 1,000 pounds per square inch, that cylinder ruptured and it either ruptured in place or it ruptured launching this cylinder into the air. >> we basically had projectiles that could kill a person, and we didn't know when they were going to explode, how they were going to explode, what direction they may take on. >> the fire is too dangerous to try to put out. >> we are in a defensive mode. we have the facility surrounded. and we are basically just in a defensive mode ar we're just actually containing the fire. >> you don't want to extinguish

the fire. you want to contain it. and just let it burn itself out. so that you're not releasing the free gas into the atmosphere to start another fire somewhere else. >> officials shut down a half-mile wide area around the fire as the cylinders launch around the highway. >> we're so used to going in, handling the situation and putting the fire out. but this fire was leaving the situation, landing on bridge, and that was something we'd never seen before. >> it was like a war zone. we don't know where the next missile may land. and that caused a lot of concern. >> people on the street are moving targets. >> i heard the tanks that are exploding. when you hear them, it sounds like mortar rounds. >> it was just like a rocket

coming down. some white, just whoosh with fire. >> even fire officials come under attack. >> all of a sudden, we hear this ssssoooo and hear this crashing and then about 150 feet off to our side, one of the cylinders had landed in a parking lot over there. >> traffic is backed up for miles as huge explosions filled the sky all day long. >> we had fireball after fireball after fireball that was being created. simultaneously. >> several agencies monitor the air quality for contaminants. >> it doesn't look hike there is a risk to the public in the vicinity. >> it takes nine hours for the fire to burn out. nearby cars and buildings are in incinerated. >> i think we had some

projectiles go over 1,000 feet from that location. and that's scary. >> luckily, no one is killed. >> it was an act of fate or an act of god that those projectiles were hitting things like empty freeways. >> randy bibb spends more than a month in the hospital. the fire changes his life forever. >> i didn't know the next day when i got up if i'd be able to go ten minutes without having to hay back down, you know. so i haven't worked since then. it's been tough. >> an investigation concludes, the fire was the result of operator error during delivery. >> it seems as if there was a cap being placed on one of the cylinders. and somehow that cap was miss aligned. that caught fire. and then the fire just grew exponentially. >> war-like braze leaves its mark on those who battled it up close. >> i'd never seen anything like this before. i couldn't even imagine something like this occurring.

and it really, it really changed the way i look at fires. coming up. a high-speed chase ends in a fireball. a suicide bomber pulls the trigger. >> i thought i saw three people die. >> a propane factory unleashes a shock wave. >> holy -- >> it looked like videos that they use in a nuclear explosion. >> and a train pleas sky high. >> oh, it just blew up. my god! my god! when caught on camera, boom! continues. 0 million dollars are changing hands online. that's why the internet needs a new kind of server. one that's 80% smaller. uses 89% less energy. and costs 77% less. it's called hp moonshot. and it's giving the internet the room it needs to grow.

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a frantic car chase comes to a fiery end in detroit, michigan. >> there was a terrible crash just now at michigan avenue. >> the horrific crash is caught

on camera by the morning traffic team who start tracking the wild pickup chase from their helicopter early on the morning of august 13, 2009. >> this guy was out to get away, and he was going to do anything he could to go at any speed, to go anywhere he had to go in order to escape. >> the eyes in the sky are in the middle of their morning job, calling traffic for the local radio and tv stations when they notice a police car with its sirens on following a pickup truck. they soon learn it's stolen. >> it's weaving in and out. people are slamming on their brakes, doing everything they can to avoid the situation. >> the driver crosses over into the oncoming lane and runs red lights. >> we watch him, this guy's crazy, what's he doing? what's he doing? >> the stolen pickup bangs a right and accelerates down a

residential street. those in the chopper are filled with draed. >> you start thinking about the mom in the caravan with the two, three kids, and the innocent by stander that might get run over. >> smoke starts billowing from the vehicle. >> we knew the smoke was probably an indication that something was about to happen. and as it turned out, it did. >> but the chase is not over yet. the smoke stops, and the pickup races down the wrong way on a three-lane road. >> i just closed my eyes and clench and go, i don't want to see it. i've been doing this for 18 years. that's something i don't want to see. >> the driver sways back and forth, blows more lights and intersections and narrowly misses a pedestrian. >> the pickup approaches a red light with traffic, plows through and rushings up against a car. >> he's racing towards the freeway. he sideswiped a car. and at that point, we went oh,

boy, he's snot stopping for anything. >> the stolen vehicle cuts off a van before racing onto the freeway. >> you keep your fingers crossed that nobody's sort of driving along and all of a sudden gets broadsided by a maniac. >> the truck crisscrosses through traffic then gets off the freeway and runs several more red lights, narrowly missing another car. >> there were at least a half-dozen instances that somebody would slam on their brakes because they had the right-of-way and he didn't. he would go right through the light and they would have to stop. >> the police stay in pursuit as the driver shows no sign of letting up. >> this person was obviously wanted for something -- we didn't know what. and the last thing he wanted to do was to surrender to the police officer that was chasing him. >> soon, the pickup is facing oncoming traffic again and blowing more red lights. >> in times of danger like that when they were going wrong ways, the police would back off a

little bit and continue pursuit when they got a little safer. >> at what intersection, the truck went airborne. but the truck keeps going, flying the wrong way on one way streets and into oncoming traffic. >> this guy kept going and going and going. >> after weaving through traffic, the truck approaches yet another intersection. this one has a fwraen light, but a mini van begins to turn. >> i saw the mini van getting ready to turn. and the first thing that goes through my mind is don't do it. but the driver of that vehicle doesn't expect somebody to be racing at them at that high spied. >> the mini van slams into the pickup which slams into a light pole and burst into flames. >> the stent did occur. >> it is amazing. this truck is totally destroyed and on fire right now. >> everyone in the chopper, following the awful chase is stunned when the car explodes. >> it was a 140k.

i remember just is this audible whoa came out of me. because it was so spectacular. >> at the high rate of speed he was going, at the angle he clipped that light post, i think that's what ruptured the gas tank. >> the pickup first clips another truck coming out of a parking lot, then hits the light pole and explodes in front of the diner. >> big ball of fire. it was huge. we thought we were gone. >> debbie is work being the grill. >> that was the day i thought i was going to die. >> the car explodes right in front of her and her customers. >> the front and the front tire went through that building there. >> patrons from the diaper check on the driver of the truck that was clipped before the explosion. >> i remember seeing people coming out of the restaurant. there was just a flurry of activity. >> the police try to extinguish the fire, but it spreads. >> too much fire. the fire was too big. we even ran in here and got our

fire extinguisher, and it just wasn't enough. >> somehow, everyone at the diner escapes injury. >> well, imagine if you had a group of people walking into the restaurant at the restaurant at that hour. it was sickening to think of what the consequences could have been. >> the driver of the mini way and the truck in the parking lot both suffer minor injuries. >> i felt relief that no one innocent was injured severely as a result of this person's total disregard for safety, for respect for other people on the rad ways. >> the driver of the stolen vehicle dies at the scene. he's later identified through dental records as 20 year old daniel dual of detroit who had a criminal record for stealing cars. the wild chase was one for the record books for the traffic team. >> i doubt i will ever forget this one. every time we fly up michigan avenue i think about it. i still know exactly where that diner is. coming up, a fighter jet is

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butte, montana, 1989. plain clothes police officers are negotiating with a man who has rigged his car with explosives. suddenly, the vehicle explodes. >> i just couldn't believe what had happened. and my concern was now for the officers. i believe thad they were dead. >> sergeant dan hollis rushes to help one of the fallen officers when the bomber emerges from the burning vehicle. >> i couldn't brief my eyes. he was out. vehicle. he was actually on fire. >> the mayhem begins hours early

after a drug store is robbed for valium. the sheriff quickly learns of the incident. >> we showed him an attach yay case, and they said if he didn't get the valium i would detonate. the pharmacist did the right thing. they gave him the valium. >> soon he's cornered in downtown butte. >> we tried to get him to move out of the downtown and residential area. and eventually, he did detonate. >> a cameraman covers the standoff. >> they had the car stopped in the middle of the intersection. it was a couple fire trucks sitting blocking the street. police cars, an ambulance sitting down the block a little way. and they were talking to the guy

through the window. >> he tells the police his car is rigged to blow sky high, and they believe him. the suspect has threatened toborough himself up before, but that ended peacefully. >> to me, that was a call he was reaching out for help. and when i first heard of this incident, i thought, terry's reaching out again. >> this time, things will end differently. >> he warned us he had a device. it was a pressure release device. and if we tried to remove him from the vehicle, it would set outf off the explosives. >> it turns out. sergeant hollis is long time friends with the bomber. >> terry and i met 20 years earlier. he was work being at a convenience store, and my partner and i would always check in on him on the graveyard shift. >> they communicate with ross land through a crack in the

window, trying to get him to give up peacefully. >> we talked to him about not even ending his life because he had a family. >> but they are alarmed by what they see inside the car. >> he had a couple gallons of what appeared to me to be gasoline and a box with pipe-bombs and some more gunpowder and things like this in the back seat. >> rossland sips cough syrup and asks to see his family. >> we scent saying that we couldn't locate them, which we couldn't at that time. >> they were having problems. she was going to file for divorce. he had left the residence and was taking medication for depression and other things. so this probably might have been the, you know, the thing that pushed him over. >> a crowd gathers as the standoff intensifies. >> it was back and forth. police kept coming up and talking to him. they'd walk away and come back and he'd signal them to come up.

>> rossland asks for drug us. >> he requested valium and codeine and things of that nature. and he was taking those items while we had him stopped. we decided to go ahead and try to immobilize his vehicle further by letting the air out of his tires. >> but as rossland becomes more disoriented, sergeant hollis becomes more concerned. >> when those drugs started to take effect, terry's personality changed. and he was just really being agitated and angry. and that's when i had went back and told the lieutenant that he just might do this. >> rossland motions for them. they lean in, hoping the suspect is going to give up. >> i thought at that point that he was going to disarm the explosives. >> instead, rossland detonates the bomb. >> all i could remember seeing

is, and feels a burst of power hit my chest and explosive hit my chest and a big ball of orange flame. i was totally engulfed in flame. >> i thought i saw three people die. i really did think i saw three people die. >> incredibly, moments later, the sheriff is back on his feet. then he sees becauseland emerge from the burning vehicle. >> he was totally engulfed in flames. >> rosslandfalls to the ground when a second bomb in the back seat of the car explodes. rescue workers spring into action and transport the victims to the hospital. the fire department works to bring the inferno under control. >> we were getting sprayed with glass and the concussion of the explosion. you felt it. it was pretty intense.

>> both the sheriff and lieutenant survived the explosion with only minor injuries. >> i don't know how we survived. that convinced me that there was somebody up there that wanted me to stay here a little bit longer. >> terry rossland has burns over 70% of his body, but he, too, survives. >> i did not have any idea that he actually survived that explosion. after seeing that, i was, there was no way that anybody could live through that. but he did. >> rossland takes his own life before his trial begins. >> it was unfortunate, i wish that we could have done more for him. i just don't know what it would have been. coming up, a tank filled with crude oil unleashes a texas-sized explosion.

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i'm melissa rehberger. the state department is closing 19 american diplomatic posts out an abundance of caution. it is connected to increased chatter indicating an al qaeda attack. and word is expected to come down in major league baseball on alex rodriguez in connection with performance enhancing drugs. now back to caught on camera. welcome back to caught on

camera, i'm contessa brewer. air shows are meant to showcase the abilities of planes and pilots with death-defying stunts and precision maneuvers. but in one show in canada, it was how the pilot exited the aircraft that got the spectators' attention. a military fighter jet for canadian air force's hornet is practicing a low-speed, low-altitude maneuver for the air show in alberta. the air show doesn't officially start until the next day, but some eager aviation buffs are on hand to see the action. all eyes are on the plane as it swoops overhead. the spectators are about to get a show they'll never forget. two cameras are recording the well-trained pilot's tricky move. one camera zooms in. the other stays wide as the plane slows and starts to turn.

suddenly, the pilot ejects. the plane wobbles, then dives, nose first into the ground. the multi million war machine explodes into a fireball. thick, black smoke billows into the air. the twisted wreckage burns out of control. onlookers are horrified as emergency crews rush to the scene. dramatic close up photographs show the pilot ejecting from the cockpit seconds from death. he's taken to the hospital. the captain compresses three vertebrae in his back. but incredibly, he makes a full recovery and tells his story to matt lauer on the today show. >> the training did kick in. it became obvious what i needed to do, and i was well trained for it. and it was just a matter of pulling the handle and going for a ride.

>> the captain is just 100 feet from the ground when he triggers his rocket-propelled ejection seat. >> i knew where it was going, and i didn't want to be there with it. so i knew my only chance of survival was to pull the ejection lever. >> it launches him into the air at more than 100 miles per hour. >> it was quite a ride. i remember the whole thing. i remember pulling the handle. the canopy jettisonsons away. >> he lands 9 dangerously close to the fireball. >> i had so much other things going through my mind, that it didn't really occur to me that i could get pulled into the fireball. once i was being dragged away from the fireball, then i knew that that was better. then i was just trying to get out of my parachute. the captain is hand picked to perform at the air show because of his experience and expertise

and says the plane malfunctioned. >> when i added the power it turned sharply to the right, started sliding through the air and then the nose p drop. when i started feeling the jet sliding to the right, i knew there was a problem, and i tried to fight it for a second or two. and the jet was not responsive to whatever i was doing to it. >> while an investigation as to what caused the plane to crash is still under way, the captain says he's still eager to get back in the cockpit. >> i would get in a jet today and do the same demo routine today if i could. also in canada, a fire breaks out at a propane facility in toronto, ontario. it quickly spreads into a seemingly bottomless pit of flames. >> when we got to the scene, we actually had small cylinders that were exploding and rocketing several 00 feet in the air. >> in the pre-dawn darkness, huge clouds of propane flare-up

like explosions from hell. dark smoke billows from the uncontrollable braze. canisters shoot up like rockets. >> sther' commonly called a 33-pound cylinder, and this site had hundreds and 00 dwrhundreds site. the fire begins at a delivery. >> there was an accident, that cloud found an ignition source and that was a vapor cloud explosion. there's a tremendous amount of force. >> the initial explosion severely damages several nearby houses. residents are awakened from their sleep and one for their lives. >> the house actually shook, and the windows blew. and the door, the grass fell on my bed, and my sister started

screaming. >> we even had the entire drywall ceilings completely flattened, knocked out of the ceiling of a house and down over the floor and beds. >> but an even bigger explosion is brewing. there are several huge tanker trucks at the facility, each filled with as much as 30,000 gallons of propane. soon after the fire starts, one of the tanks explodes. >> look at that -- look at the fire [ bleep ] holy [ bleep ]. >> the explosion is caught on fire by andrew bishop. >> it looked like those videos they use in movies, like a nuclear explosion, a mushroom clouds and it seemed unreal. >> the initial blast that starts the fire wakes andrew up. and i begins recording the scene from his balcony. >> i thought it might have been an earthquake or something hit

my building or something like that. and i will no clue that like anything had exploded. >> then the 30,000 gallon propane tank explodes. >> i was shocked more than scared. i had never seen anything like it before. >> the shock wave hits him. >> damn! >> that's part of the reeb the camera went shaky. all of a sudden we get this big push coming at us. it was surreal, you know. that was the loudest sound i'd ever heard. >> the massive explosion blows out windows and sets off car alarms. >> every car parked out here, the alarm was going off. and everybody was running outside to see what was going on. >> fiery cloud slowly dissipates into the night sky. >> oh, [ bleep ]. >> it was bright orange. and it seemed to lift like this aura from it.

i don't know, craziness. >> the fire melts the steel surrounding the tank, followed by the massive relies of propane. the explosion is called blevy. >> the steel will weaken because of the heating. it ruptures, and that pressurized gas is released very, very quickly. >> the fire department tries to keep the other tanks from exploding by cooling them with water. >> you put the water where the flame is impinging on the steel to keep that steel cool. you're controlling the fire. you're not really putting it out. >> authorities evacuate the neighborhood, close highways and airspace and pump water for 15 straight hours. >> we just foam down to the water pumping stations. have them increase the pressure for us because we're using large amounts of water, we were putting on 500 gallons a minute from two directions. so 1,000 gallons a minute to

prevent another blevy. >> the fire timely burns itself out. but the disaster site isn't sea for more than a month. >> we still on scene because there were thousands of hundred pound cylinders that could explode. >> one employee is killed in the fire and a firefighter dies of a heart attack. the enormous inferno leaves its mark on canada's largest city. >> this was a six alarm fire in toronto. and we've had six alarm fires for the high rises and factories, but it wasn't just the fire, it was the exexploding as well. coming up. >> pan back. pan back. >> a mystery train in flames unleashes a toxic cloud. >> i haven't seen flames or smoke go that high before. >> we're going to have burn victims. >> and firefighters get too

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[ male announcer ] fiber one. an oil tank has been burning for hours in three rivers, texas on august 10, 1990. fire personnel think they have it under control. then all of a sudden, the ground begins to tremble. medic lisa stewart is at the scene. >> you could hear it just rumbling and shaking the ground, and it just sounded awful. >> suddenly, the oil tank erupts like a volcano. >> and when it blew, everybody ran. it was chaos. >> people flee, and a water

truck tries to speed away. >> it was hot. people were running and scattering. >> the flames grow bigger and bigger as everyone runs for their life, including kenstv cameraman. >> i got my arm burned. >> are you okay? >> the heat radiated very intensely. i got second and third-degree burns on my arms. and the only thing i could think of was to grab my camera and cover my face. >> the super heated vapor cloud scorches everyone nearby. >> the fire in the cloud was just like a mushroom cloud, just like one of the atomic explosions you'd see on tv. >> people down there are going to be burnt bad. >> lisa helps treat several badly burned firefighters.

>> i remember we started taking off people's shirts and just pouring some of the drinking water on them sore soaking their tee shirrs in ice water, putting them back on there. and then we had to triage and get the worst ones that we thought needed to go to the hospital, of course the ones that skin was coming off and couldn't walk or burned, you know, more than 25, 30% of their body. >> the oil tank catches fire hours earlier. lisa stewart is one of the first responders. >> the flames wer1 00 of miles.

>> we were just trying to get enough foam and water on there to knock it out. >> the smoking caldron ominously flares up. >> what's causing the flash we keep seeing every once in a while? >> right now, it could be several things. >> as i was videotaping the tank fire there were a few flare-ups. as soon as it flared up. they put water on it, and it would go back down. >> officials believe the fire is close to being extension wished. >> i assume that whatever oil was in there was just burning itself out. and all the firemen became, you know, relaxed, some pulled out sandwiches. i went and got myself a drink and was ready to pack and leave. >> but a dangerous condition known as a boilover is brewing. >> a couple fire departments looked at the footage and was apparently one of the first time

a boilover type explosion had been caught on tape. >> a boilover can occur during oil tank fires because oil is lighter than water. the water being pumped onto the burning oil tank sinks to the bottom where it eventually boils into steam and explodes, propelling the flaming oilon top into the sky and the surrounding area. >> where were you at when the explosion happened? >> up there with the nozzles on the tank. >> it started to boil over. by the time we noticed it was going to boil over, we backed out and it was too late. the flash caught us. >> it was a mad dash for survival. everybody was running as fast as they could away from the fire. the heat was so intense, we didn't know when it was going to stop. >> before the explosion, the fire department is aware of the boilover danger but believes they have it under control.

firefighters can prevent a boilover from happening by making sure the water sprayed on the tank drains out the bottom. this time, they miss calculate. >> what do you think caused the explosion? >> just water >> despite the chaos, david's instincts kick in. he keeps taping as he runs away from the intense heat and flames. >> for a split second i thought this is it. how i had the presence of mind to point the camera backwards and run, to this day, i can't explain it but i thought this is it, i better at least catch it on tape. >> more than 30 people are burned by the blast, including david, who radios for help. >> this thing blew up. we're going to have burn victims. >> i had blisters the size of oranges on my arm and it was pretty painful and needed to be treated. i was out of work for like three months until i recovered. >> firefighters who thought the fire was under control suffer some of the worst injuries. >> the ones that were resting, took off some of their bunker

gear. and the ones who had their bunker gear off and started running, that's when they got burned. >> how badly are you burned? >> i'm not burned real bad. some are burned worse. i got some burns on my back, my ear. >> what were you thinking about when it happened? >> thinking about who could run the fastest. >> was the hottest day of my life. i'll always remember it. >> fortunately, no one loses their life but this explosion is a lesson learned. coming up -- >> it just blew up. my god. >> a freight train filled with flammable liquids turns into a thunder ball. >> felt like somebody opened an oven door. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh...no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane?

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a 110-car freight train

derails and catches fire near luther, oklahoma, in 2008. >> i was really concerned because it was burning very hot, very rapidly, and so i knew that possibly something could happen at any moment. >> helicopter news reporter jim gardiner covers the accident. >> we veee jets of flame coming out of the cracks of the tank on the ground. i mean, it was shooting just big jets of flame. >> jim stays upwind of the inferno, unsure what the train cars are carrying. >> you always want to know where the wind is. you want to be real cautious because obviously if it's a toxic chemical, you don't want to end up downwind of a train derailment and get any of the smoke or fumes that come off of it. >> on the ground, j.t. langston from the luther volunteer fire department is one of the first on the scene. >> it was going pretty good. the fire was going pretty hot and heavy there when we got there.

>> the fire department doesn't know what the train cars are carrying, either. >> i didn't know what was in them or how bad it was at that point in time. i just knew that we needed to get on it pretty quick or we were going to have trouble. >> luther fire chief brian martin is faced with the most dangerous situation of his career. his small department isn't trained to deal with hazardous material. >> that requires specialty training. a lot of that training isn't available sometimes. and my biggest issue with everything was always keeping my guys safe. we wanted to know what we had, what we were going to do, before we sent anybody in. >> the fire department is outmatched. >> i think it scared us all because it was what are we going to do and how are we going to do it. >> the fire department calls in reinforcements as the toxic blaze spreads to a nearby oil pump. >> it caught an oil well on fire with a horsehead pump that was

several hundred feet away from it. that's how intense the heat was. >> fire officials soon learn the train cars are carrying crude oil and ethanol. >> we went ahead and evacuated two miles downwind and a mile each side of it just to make sure that everybody was out of any kind of smoke cloud or anything else. >> huge flames spew from the super-heated inferno and thick dark smoke fills the sky. >> pan back. pan back. pan back. we just had a huge explosion. >> it really kind of surprised us, caught us off guard. >> suddenly, one of the train cars explodes in a gigantic plume of fire. >> just blew up. my god! my god! >> it was just unbelievable. i'm at 1,000 feet and i'm thinking this is not stopping. it just keeps growing and growing. pretty soon i'm looking out my door level with this huge mushroom cloud. >> the explosion was -- it was just pretty amazing.

i haven't seen flames or smoke go that high before. >> the massive eruption catches firefighters by surprise. >> all of us just kind of looked up like wow. >> we heard it, we felt it. just the heat off of it was unimaginable. then it was like well, what are we going to do next. do we need to start moving people farther back. >> even though the firefighters are a safe distance away, they feel the intense heat of the explosion. >> we were a half mile away and it felt like somebody opened an oven door. it was a big bang, then you just felt the heat and saw the flames shooting through the air. >> jim feels the heat in the chopper. >> we have a little sliding window on the side of the helicopter doors on the front, you know, to get air. i actually had one slid back on the co-pilot's side. you could actually feel the heat come through that little window when it passed us. very hot, very intense. anybody, if they had been on the ground close to it spraying water on it, they would have got burned. >> fortunately, the train

explodes just outside of town and no one is injured by the blast. >> another mile down the road, it had been right here in the middle of our town. it could have been a really messy deal. >> after the explosion, the fire eventually burns itself out. >> all 26 years of flying and all the news that i've covered, it will be one of the things that will stick in my mind just from the fact it was such a large ball of fire and it came so high. >> oh, it just blew up. my god! my god! >> whether the cause is mechanical failure or human error, when combustible materials get out of control, you can expect big fires, big explosions and big booms. i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera."

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> america's prisons, dangerous, often deadly. there are 2 million people doing time. every day is a battle to survive and to maintain order. located in the deep south, holman correctional facility where most are serving life sentences. we spent months documenting life on the inside, where the prisoners have nothing but time and nothing to lose. this is "lockup: holman extended stay."