i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." each year fire kills more americans than all natural disasters combined, and yet we may not think about the things that surround us as potential threats. gas lines, tanker trucks and even the electrical wiring in your car. when you least expect it, a fire can happen. and when it happens on a large scale, whole neighborhoods can go up in flames. a massive explosion turns a california town into hell on earth. >> what the -- is that? >> what the -- is that? >> september, 2010, it's just another quiet summer evening in the san francisco suburb of san bruno. but then at 6:11 p.m., disaster strikes. this gas station surveillance camera records the edge of a massive explosion a quarter mile away that rips through the neighborhood. startled drivers abandon the pumps and begin to drive away. a woman flees, clinging to her baby. residents grab their cameras and begin filming seconds after the blast. >> holy -- holy -- holy --! what the -- is that? holy --! >> thei

i'm contessa brewer.ashboard cameras are an important policing tool that can bear witness to details missed by the human eye and reveal invaluable lessons for law enforcement. in this hour you'll see compelling situations caught on dashboard cameras from getaways gone awry to ruthless gunmen firing at will. >> a routine traffic stop turns into a roadside shootout when troopers unknowingly pull over an armed and dangerous escaped prisoner. >> i'm thinking already i shouldn't have stopped this car. >> october 26, 1998. tyler, texas. trooper barry goins an 18-year veteran of the force is assigned to train treerp jasmine andreesen, a rookie six months out of the academy. >> he was not my training officer. i was riding with him that night because my fto had other arrangements and had something else to do that night. >> no. no, we don't go out with a rookie drill. >> they're at the tail end of a particularly busy night when they decide to look for an easy way to finish their shift. i went on the county road tha

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to caught on camera. it is human nature to get angry and sometimes emotions boil over. when they do, situations can spiral out of control. in this hour, you'll see people who lash out in frustration dispare and rage. >> it is a scene that would shock any parent. two middle school girls beating each other in front of dozens of their peers. and the whole bloody battle is caught on an iphone camera. >> you want to see more of this? >> one of the girls involved is 13-year-old see year spencer. she has just switched middle schools in the small suburb of marriesville, washington after being bullied in her old school. at first, it seems like a good fit. >> it was perfectly fine. like, i had no problems. i loved it. >> but sierra is bullied in this school. her mother is frustrated that the problems she thought she fix said continue sngz there are three middle schools in in town and they intermingle. so eventually the problems she was having at the other middle school carry over and af

i'm contessa brewer. collisions clam at this times car wrecks can be scary enough to make you feel like your heart is skipping a beat. our first video is a heart stopping moment when a young girl goes into cardiac failure at a texas middle school and it's all caught on camera. it's a normal school day until a 12-year-old girl's heart suddenly stops beating. >> first thing i thought, scary. very scary. because i didn't know what i was looking at. >> september 26th, 2011, frisco, texas. kylie shea is walking the haulways of moss middle school with her friends when she suddenly has trouble breathing. attempting to sit down, she collapses and it's all caught on a time lapse security camera. kylie's friends run for help and the first person they see is phys ed coach kirsten, and she has no idea what a dramatic turn her day is about to take. >> just a normal day. we just got through with p.e. and two girls came running in and said kylie is having a seizure come quick. at that point, i just took off as fast as i

i'm contessa brewer. the power of the natural world surrounds us and although it can be awe inspiring it could be deadly. disaster could strike without warning and leave behind other utter devastation. into when battlelines are drawn between man and nature, frequently, nature has the upper hand. >> it looks likes a time-lapsed movie scene. >> this looked like something apocalyptic. some kind of end of the world moment. >> although you could see it coming from miles away -- >> you look at the size of this thing and think, oh, yeah. >> you can't escape it. hot, dry weather is the stuff of legend in the sprawling metropolis of phoenix, arizona. here in the valley of the sun, summer temperatures can exceed 100 degrees for weeks on end. being surrounded by desert only makes things hotter. on july 5th, 2011, the combination results in a spectacular phenomenon that fills the sky. >> the storm spanned from one side of the horizon to the other. >> this time lapse must be seen to be believed. the storm is called a

i'm contessa brewer. when i look at the web's most popular videos, the ones that go viral, my favorites get me going back again and again to try and figure out the method behind their madness. in this hour, we'll take a look at some truly unique, brain-twisting videos to see if we can unravel their magic and mystery. we all want to know what on earth made them try that and how did they catch it all on camera? >> a few people have tried it. nobody has ever managed to get anywhere close to what we got today. >> have you ever witnessed a miracle? >> you have to believe you can do these things. it's not, like, impossible. me, my boots and i, we're going to make it. >> in april 2010, an incredible video hits the web making millions believe in the impossible. >> i definitely think it's going to be the next big thing. >> a new sport is introduced called liquid mountaineering, essentially running on water. >> could it ever happen? >> who doesn't want to believe that you can actually run on water? >> and you see t

i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." from an early age we're told never to play with fire. maybe that's why we're so fascinated by people who dare to get close to the flames. our first story is about a fire breathing performer. as you'll see years of training aren't enough to avoid a terrifying accident. we want to warn you about everything in this hour, from beginning to end. don't try any of it at home. or anywhere for that matter. a fire breather performs a move she's done hundreds of times before, but this time, in the midst of her act, she sets herself ablaze. hudson, quebec, is 40 miles from the french canadian city of montreal. it's also home to a summer music festival that draws thousands. >> the hudson festival is very, very popular with the town. everybody comes out. it's a very festive atmosphere. >> the best place to watch the performances is the stage by cunningham's restaurant and bar. >> we luck out every year. we get the stage right in front of our pub. >> july 31st, 2010, i

i'm contessa brewer.o far we've seen everyday people willing to risk their own lives willing to save a stranger. we've seen neglect toward a dying woman recorded by surveillance cameras in a psychiatric emergency room. in our next story, people in a pizza parlor are unexpectedly faced with another daunting decision, the test to step up when they see something bad going down. >> it is perhaps one of the most unexpected and brutal knockout punches ever caught on camera outside a boxing ring. >> got the concussion right when he hit me the first time. >> but what is even more shocking may be what happens next. july 31st, 2004. da vinci's pizza parlor. akron, ohio. it's 2:00 in the morning, and joseph scarpino, the man in the striped shirt, is about to have a really bad day. it begins slowly when ms. pristina simms enters and abruptly cuts in line. >> when ms. simms entered the pizzeria, she went to the front. i wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. >> joseph gets a call from his wife, waving in the c

i'm contessa brewer. >> msnbc takes you behind the walls of notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you have never seen." "lockup:raw." >> you have a lot of people here that now that they're in prison they resort to what they have to as far as sex. >> we manage to connect some times. >> your lovely bride. >> prison weddings, openly gay and lesbian relationships, conjugal visits where inmates can spend intimate time with their wives, siblings doing time together. >> that is my only brother. we are really close. we are really tight. he's for murder, i'm attempted murder. >> some of the most compelling stories we've produced on lockup have been about intimate relationships behind bars. >> but in prison, love can be a double-edged sword. >> they're quick to tell you in here that they love you. but the minute you do something that they don't like they'll cut you. >> even though sex is one of the most basic of human desires, behind bars it is prohibited. but that hasn't stopped one of the most memorable inmates to ever appear on "lockup" from getting his needs met.