. >> news cameras at the scene capture clayton on his cell phone as he keeps rochelle on the line. >> i ran directly to where the police and firemen were and started talking to them and pointing up to where she was. >> an hour passes. as they hang out the open window, clayton is trying to keep rochelle calm, feeding her vital rescue information. >> he said, that bucket is coming right up to your room, right up to your room. i thought to myself, that bucket truck is not coming up that high. >> and she's right. the ladders aren't tall enough to reach the top floors. >> we couldn't breathe. smoke inside, smoke outside. and i thought to myself, i know how people feel when they're drowning. you just can't get any air. >> rochelle wonders out loud if she and her daughter will make it out alive. >> in that moment, i just knew that, oh, my god, i made the wrong choice. we're going to die. >> clayton tells her helicopters are on their way. rochelle and sona have been fighting for their lives for nearly three hours, and rescuers are, in fact, trying to land helicopters directly above them. but