Dispatch was a vehicle.
Could be an accident or it could be an auto fire.
Oh [bleep].
All right, this might be the big one.
Look, look, loot at this [bleep]..
Look. - Yep, a truck.
Call HAZMAT, baby.
SQURT 27 to fire alarm.
We're on the scene.
It looks like we might have a fuel truck on fire.
Can you have--
We arrive on the scene.
It took me maybe three seconds to just take a hold
of what I was looking at.
It was something to see.
Matter of fact, give me a one alarm, fire alarm.
Give me a one alarm.
(ON RADIO) Out on 27.
Be advised, a one alarm.
I asked dispatch to complete the one alarm, which means
to send multiple companies.
Yeah, back this bitch up.
I called for HAZMAT, which is our hazardous materials
officer.
He comes out on the scene to deal
with anything that's classified by DOT as a hazardous material,
such as fuel.
[explosion]
Oh [bleep]!
Oh, this gonna be bad, dog.
[bleep] The way--
Yes indeed.
That bitch can blow.
See if you can find a hydrant.
[police sirens]
Come on, we got to do something quick.
Borne, they got a hydrant on that corner?
It's going to be on that side over there.
Some new information real quick.
Lady said that this car had hit a car,
a passenger car, on the other side, said nobody got out.
One side of street is businesses,
the other side is residences.
We don't want to see that gas station go up either.
And, yeah, that's a whole other set of problems.
So you've got life safety factor.
You've got explosion potential.
Sometimes we got to remember that this thing is a killer.
Give me a deuce and a half.
All right.
Put a deuce and a half up.
Leave it out for right now.
(ON RADIO) 503 to HAZMAT.
Cab of the truck so far is on fire.
Let's hump it.
I mean, I feel helpless.
But, I mean, what can I do?
If that thing explode right now,
shew, dude, you're talking about blocks.
Right.
Blocks of devastation.
Hope the driver of that truck got out.
I don't like this at all.
(ON RADIO) Command to 27, Back the crew out.
[explosion]
(ON RADIO) 27, everybody needs to get farther back,
at least two blocks back.
Everybody needs to drop it back.
[explosion]
The burn is [bleep] a transformer.
You back up!
It's hot beyond explanation.
All right, look.
Payne wants to back it up. - [bleep].
Let it go.
Y'all gotta move over.
Come on, Hayes.
You're working under the most stressful conditions
that I can imagine.
For us to put on 60 pounds of gear
and go face to face with something
that has no mind of its own, a little fear
might want to creep in.
And you've got to keep that at bay and just do the job.
Watch that power line!
Back up, back up, back up!
I need some help!
When our hoses are filled with water,
they're heavy like boulders.
Yeah, that's right.
Ah!
Back up, back up!
It's getting hot.
Having been a fireman before, that
was the first thought in my mind, was, we're too close.
Told Titus, this one is trick that they teach you,
is to put your thumb up and look at the scene.
And if you can still see it around your thumb,
you're still too close.
Dude, we got back up some more.
Come on, move this truck.
Dude, that's getting way too big way too fast.
When you see fire backing up, that's when you know,
all right, we need to just back this bitch up a little bit.
Just stay safe.
What about the foam?
You still got plans for that?
No, it's too much for foam right now.
(ON RADIO) Command to fire alarm.
The tank done ruptured, and we have a lot of fire and flames
blowing out of the tank here.
We're going to have to let it burn for the time being.
We don't know how much fuel is inside that tanker.
Every truck carries 15 gallons of foam.
That's not going to cut it.
So we had to call in a foam truck that's outfitted
with a master stream nozzle that can
apply foam way more than we could
with a couple of hand lines.
(ON RADIO) Command to 500.
Do we have any foam truck or anything we can use?
We're letting this gas tanker fire burn itself out,
but we're probably going to need it when we're
able to get close enough to it.
The first moments of a fire are the most dangerous,
and it took every ounce of restraint
that these guys have to stay back and not get in there
and fight that fire.
(ON RADIO) Fire alarm to Command, be advised.
A foam tanker truck is responding
from engine transporters.
(ON RADIO) 10-4.
One of the things that all first responders are taught,
that if you don't protect yourself first,
you can't help anybody else.
See that tornado, eh?
Two of the guys' brothers are the driver,
and he's asked me about him.
I'm like, I don't--
I don't-- I don't know what to tell him.
Tell him right now we don't have all of that information
yet.
All right, that's fine.
They can't find out anything until that fire gets down
and we get close.
At this time, we don't know anything, my man.
I know where you at. Bro, I promise.
I know that's your family.
If we find something out, bro, we'll come let you know.
(ON RADIO) Delta to Operations,
we're starting to hit the fire with foam.
There we go.
Now we're putting it out.
Woo.
- You all right? - All right, baby.
All right, Rome.
Good job, baby.
Once the fire was out, we were able to put
our eyes on the victim.
That sticks with you for a while, you know what I mean?
I just need to take a quick look so I can call it in.
I can tell you.
Point it out.
The only thing I can recognize.
All right.
You have to be pronounced deceased
by someone with a medical license, meaning a doctor.
We are basically an extension of the doctor's hands
in the field of what we do.
(ON PHONE) Hey, Doc, it's Dan with New Orleans unit 3221.
I'm on the scene of a 18 wheeler fuel tanker fire.
We do have one confirmed fatality
in the cab of this truck.
Right now that's the only patient we're calling for a DNR
on that patient.
We call the physician and tell them what we see
and what's going on, and then they ultimately say,
yes, the time of death is--
(ON RADIO) Time of death, 11:28 PM.
Copy, Dr. Nunez.
Thank you, Doc.
I mean, that guy was probably just starting his day.
I mean, there's a lot of refineries
down in that part of town.
I mean, I think that's really when it hits you,
like, this guy really had no idea what was going on.
Like he had no clue that it was going to end.
I think that's sad when you think
about the families and his friends
and everything in his life that changes as a result
of a tragic accident.
It's always good to see them boys
walking around when it's over.
I know, right?
We may not have been able to save the driver of that tanker,
but we did what we set out to do.
And that was to protect our neighborhood.
We're tasked with the duty of holding that night
watch, keeping everyone safe.
And amidst all that chaos, all that craziness,
and all that noise, man, we got the job done.
Good evening. I'm Kim Holden.
And I'm Nancy Parker.
Police say the fire trapped the driver of the wheeler,
and he died.
The woman who police say was driving
the wrong way when she crashed into the truck
is now under arrest.