Our first story takes us to Houston, Texas, where
a massive five alarm fire has engulfed a $50 million
apartment complex, trapping a construction worker
on a fifth floor balcony.
The video you're about to see was recorded
on a cell phone camera by people in a neighboring
office building.
WOMAN 1: [gasps]
Oh, [bleep].
They're going to bring the ladder truck over.
Oh, my god.
WOMAN 1: This guy is on the freaking ledge.
[gasps] Look at this.
Oh, my god.
MAN: Where?
WOMAN 1: Do they see him?
MATT ISEMAN: The worker is in grave danger.
He has mere seconds before the fire is on top of him.
WOMAN 1: Oh, my god.
WOMAN 1: Yeah.
MATT ISEMAN: High winds are causing the fire
to spread rapidly, shattering windows as it
moves towards the trapped man.
As the glass doors of the balcony
melt from the extreme heat, the man
realizes he can't wait for the ladder truck
and attempts to drop to the balcony below.
WOMAN 1: Oh, no!
Oh, no!
Oh!
Oh, my god!
MAN: Keep going!
Keep going!
WOMAN 1: [sighs]
WOMAN 1: They need to get him.
WOMAN 2: Oh, my god.
WOMAN 1: [gasps]
Oh, god.
WOMAN 1: Hell, he can jump from there.
MATT ISEMAN: The fire has ravaged the fifth floor
and is now making its way to the fourth floor, where the worker
waits for the ladder.
WOMAN 1: They need to move that truck up.
Oh, my god.
I think that we probably should be going.
[people chatter]
MAN: Just jump for it, man!
WOMAN 1: Hell, yes.
Oh, thank Jesus.
Thank you, god.
MATT ISEMAN: He makes it to the ladder,
but he's not out of harm's way yet.
WOMAN 1: Oh, my god.
[screams]
WOMAN 2: Oh, no!
Oh, my god!
MATT ISEMAN: That man is beyond lucky.
Brought to safety just before the building collapsed,
he was one of nearly 90 workers on the site that day,
all of whom managed to make it out
alive, thanks to the fearless work
of the Houston Fire Department.
And joining me now is Curtis Reissig,
the man who survived that blaze, to tell us more
about his harrowing experience.
Curtis, great to have you on.
So how quickly did this fire spread?
It's just the wind picked up.
And when I got to the patio, I looked to my right, and I said,
there is no way these flames are spread like this.
It's impossible for them to be where they are right now.
And I said, well, I'm trapped.
I mean, I said a prayer right there.
So they're going to find me dead right here, and I couldn't--
it was like a panic attack hits you, because you're
engulfed in this thing, and you're thinking
you're not going to get out.
I mean, really, I was literally thinking
I wouldn't get out, because the smoke was just so toxic.
What were you thinking when you realized you had to make
that incredible leap of faith?
I see the firefighters and thinking
at the middle of that, that ladder is not moving
as fast as these flames are.
I mean, they're getting right here,
I'm starting to feel the heat, I've got to do something.
I'm going to have to swing down to the lower level.
And I said, God just got to get me through this.
And sure enough, I made it, I landed on my butt
where I wasn't going to stumble off that building.
Curtis, you finally make it onto the ladder,
and then the building begins to collapse above you.
What was it like seeing that?
CURTIS REISSIG: I'm thinking, I'm home free now, I'm safe,
I'm safe.
And then I see the building collapse,
and this brush of heat from that rooftop collapsing.
I think we gave each other high fives
and said, thank you, Jesus, let's go!
I was just happy to be alive, breathe
in, and off that building.
Just truly incredible.
Thank you so much for coming on.