Tank

Tank
Originally uploaded by hemispheredancer1.

This is a helium tank. It easily weighs over 300 pounds.

I saw one launched 200 feet up into the air, out of the fire and through the air, well over 200 yards, as if it weighed nothing.

When I saw the firemen and policemen fleeing and running for cover, I knew the situation had gone from bad to worse. Seriously, when's the last time you saw first responders running AWAY FROM THE EMERGENCY? It was at this point that I decided it would be best to GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE before a tank landed on my car.

Sensing the enormity of the situation, I called KMOX, a radio station here in St. Louis. The call screener was like "So, what do you want to talk to Paul about?"

And I said: "There's an enormous fire, and I don't know many more details, but I've never seen anything like it."

It was at that point that KMOX broke into programming for my story and put me on the air!

I'm the man on the street!

So, in a phone call that took all of 45 seconds, I gave the show host, Paul Harris, the description you read above and actually informed all of us motoring home or sitting around the radio, of the inferno quickly consuming a city block.

I drove to my appointment but kept the radio dialed in. The situation grew worse and worse, and eventually a ten block radius was evacuated and a major highway shut down.

And I thought a few tires were burning...