THEY TOLD US ABOUT 15 MINUTES
BEFORE HE TALKED TO US THAT
TWO
FIREFIGHTERS DIED AFTER THEY
WERE KILLED AFTER A BUILDING
COLLAPSED.
AND IT IS AN APARTMENT BUILDING
THAT CAUGHT FIRE AROUND 7:30
TONIGHT.
FIREFIGHTERS STILL HAVE THEIR
HANDS FULL AS INCREDIBLY
EMOTIONAL AS YOU CAN
IMAGINE FOR
THESE FIREFIGHTERS.
THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE NIGHT
WE HAVE SEEN FIREFIGHTERS
HUGGING AND A FIREFIGHTER
SPOKEMAN COME TALK TO US
AND
TURN AWAY BECAUSE HE WAS TOO
EMOTIONAL.
THEY'RE TAKING THIS HARD AS
THEY
TRY TO FIGHT THE FIRE.
AN APARTMENT WITH SEVERAL
BUSINESSES BELOW.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOME VIDEO
FROM EARLIER TONIGHT.
THIS WILL GIVE YOU A SENSE
OF
THE URGENCY OF THE BUILDING
COLLAPSED, THE FIREFIGHTERS
JUMPING OVER RUBBLE AND RUNNING
TO THE SIDE OF THE APARTMENT
COMPLEX.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE
MIDDLE OF THE
SCREEN YOU SEE THOSE TWO
FIREFIGHTERS EMBRACING.
THEY HAD
TO URN IT AWAY FROM THE
FIRE TO FIGHT THIS AND CARRIED
ONE OF THE
FIREFIGHTERS OUT.
THEY HAD GONE INTO THE FIRE TO
TRY TO SAVE RESIDENTS BUT THEY
CAME OUT AND AS THOSE
FIREFIGHTERS WERE RETREATING,
THAT IS WHEN THE WALL COLLAPSED
ON
THESE FOUR FIREFIGHTERS.
TWO OF THEM WERE
CRITICALLY
INJURED AND RIGHT THERE YOU CAN
SEE PART OF THE BUILDING
COLLAPSED.
THAT SHOWS YOU HOW
UNSTABLE IT
WAS FOR THESE FIREFIGHTERS.
NOW WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW URGENT IT
WAS OUT HERE. YOU
HAVE A
FIREFIGHTER PUMPING ON THE CHEST
OF HIS FELLOW FIREFIGHTER AND
THEY
TAKE OFF RUNNING TOWARDS AN
AMBULANCE.
LET'S COME BACK HERE LIVE AND
SHOW YOU
WHAT WE SEE HERE.
THEY'RE FIGHTING THIS FIRE FROM
WHAT THEY CALL A DEFENSIVE
POSTURE MEANING THIS BUILDING IS
SO UNSAFE
THEY'LL IDENTIFY IT
FROM THE OUTSIDE.
THEY HAVE FIRE
TRUCKS POURING
WATER ON THE FIRE.
THEY HAD REPORTS TWO RESIDENTS
WERE
INSIDE ON TOP OF THE
BUSINESSES IN THE FIRE.
AND ONCE THEY REALIZED THAT
THE
BUILDING WAS STRUCTURALLY UNSAFE
IS WHEN THEY PULLED OUT.
THOSE FIREFIGHTERS
WHO WERE
INJURED WERE JUST OUTSIDE THE
APARTMENT BUILDING WHEN THAT
FIRST ONE COLLAPSED.
I
WANT TO YOU LISTEN TO THE FIRE
CHIEF.
THIS WAS HIM A FEW
MINUTES AGO.
IT'S A TRAGEDY.
IT'S A TRAGIC SITUATION
HERE AND
I KNOW THAT -- I KNOW KANSAS
CITY AND I KNOW
KANSAS CITY
HEARTS GO OUT TO THE
FIREFIGHTERS AT THIS TIME AND I
KNOW PEOPLE
WILL BE OFFERING
HELP.
THERE WILL BE TIME FOR THAT
LATER.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOTIFYING FAMILY
MEMBERS, ALL THE IMMEDIATE
FAMILY HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND
WE'RE NOTIFYING EXTENDED FAMILY
MEMBERS AS WE
DO.
WE ARE TOLD THAT FIREFIGHTERS
FROM DIFFERENT
DEPARTMENTS AND
FAMILY MEMBERS ARE RUSHING TO
THAT HOSPITAL TO BE WITH EACH
OTHER.
MEANWHILE BACK HERE
AT THE
SCENE, THEY ARE REALLY JUST
LETTING THIS FIRE BURN.
I TALKED TO SOME RESIDENTS AND
THEY SAID THERE WERE SEVERAL
BUSINESSES, A NAIL SALON, A BAR
AND A TAX PREPARATION PLACE ON
THE BOTTOM FLOOR AND THEN YOU
HAD SEVERAL SLEWS OF APARTMENTS
ABOVE THEM.
I
TALKED TO ONE RESIDENT WHO WAS
INSIDE AND HE HEARD SOMEONE YELL
"FIRE, EVERYBODY
GET OUT" AND
THAT'S WHEN HE LEFT AND HE AND
SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE GATHERED
OUT HERE. POLICE
MEANWHILE HAVE
SHUT DOWN SEVERAL BLOCKS IN BOTH
DIRECTIONS.
A LOT MORE
FIREFIGHTERS CAME IN.
WE HAVE SEEN AMBULANCES COME IN
AS WELL.
FIREFIGHTERS
TAKING NO CHANCES
AS THEY
FIGHT THIS FIRE AND