All language subtitles for First.On.The.Scene.S01E04.1080p.WEB.H264-PeeWee

Los Angeles, California...

with 13 million people...

and over 1,000 emergencies a day...

it's often referred to

as the local news capital
of the world.

Video journalists have captured
an unbelievable catalogue of events.

To see what our members
had to endure is very difficult.

This is almost like a movie.
It's hard to believe this was real.

With our first-on-scene
heroes' perspectives,

this is an insight
into their most thrilling moments.

In this episode...

an inferno in a crowded motel

forces residents
to leap for their lives.

You're witnessing people
jump from a second-story window

onto concrete.

Is this the world's
slowest police pursuit?

There was
something not right with him.

You never know
where this is gonna go.

And...they're fast.

They're furious.

Illegal races
take over city streets.

It's 11:30 p.m.
in South Los Angeles,

and video journalist Howard

hears something on his radio
that captures his attention.

So, I was sitting there,

and we hear
this stolen vehicle report

coming straight towards us,
which is perfect for us.

This was the start of a pursuit
actually happening on camera.

We rarely see that.
Pull up at the intersection.

I can see the guy coming.
He guns it.

Straight through the gas station,
down into the main road.

Boom.

Takes off half a dozen sheriffs,

and a helicopter overhead.
That's a whole pursuit.

Pursuits don't come often,

but when they do come,
it is such a rush.

My adrenaline is pumping.

I'm shaking.
My windows are steaming up,

but I have to learn
to control the adrenaline.

These types of chases
are the most dangerous

because the suspect
has already shown

a willingness
to ram into other vehicles

and to risk the lives
of innocent civilians.

After recklessly fleeing
through residential streets,

the suspect had taken off on foot.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department

has the area shut down
for the search.

Howard monitors the action closely.

Once a subject exits a vehicle,

then a whole new line of things
goes through the officer's head.

"Is this subject armed?

How far is he willing to go?"

You never know what's gonna happen.
It could turn into gunfire.

It could turn into a physical fight.

I had the suspect run
right towards me.

All that stands between me

is a chain-link fence
and the razor wire.

He's coming over
that fence right at me.

Do I grab him? Do I tackle him?
Do I leave him alone?

Do I step back,
or do I just get my shot?

And I got the shot.

Once I saw that razor fence,

I believe that guy
was absolutely caught.

Razor fences
are extremely dangerous.

They can cut deep.
They can cut veins.

You've got two cops grabbing him.
His shirt's being ripped off.

This guy
obviously wants to get away.

My adrenaline is already up here.

My adrenaline
is peaking at this point.

And to take it up that next notch,
I mean, I had to bring myself down,

like, don't get trouble out.

The suspect is proving
a danger to the community.

Police must now urgently set up
a perimeter to catch him.

I believe the cameraman may have put
himself in a bit of danger? Yes.

But you've got to get that shot
if you wanna make the money.

Yeah, thinking about danger
in a story like this

is more on the top of my mind now,
having a family.

I've actually gone back
numerous times,

and I've questioned myself
about how close I got.

He jumped over razor wire.

It's like me tackling him
after that, not a good idea.

Typically, it's not the officer
that catches the suspect.

It's the radio.
It's getting your partners in place

so we can set up a good perimeter
and do a systematic search

so that we can lock that person down
into a particular area

and where he doesn't feel
he can move without being seen.

There's something
in all of us that are like,

"Is this person
actually going to get away?"

And nine out of ten times,
they don't.

It's one
of those human nature things

that we want to follow and watch,

and see what the aftermath
is gonna be.

Howard makes the decision
to step back,

and alert the officers
on the perimeter

as to which one is the suspect.

The guy in the red pants.

-Is that him?
-That's him, yeah. That's him.

The ending of this story amazes me.

With all that law enforcement
and a helicopter on scene,

the guy gets away.

He should have gotten caught.

How do you get away
from a dozen sheriffs,

dozen LAPD and a helicopter?

There were so many times
where they could've arrested him.

He ran right past me.

-I could've tackled him.
-That guy got lucky.

While some, like this culprit,
manage to elude capture,

statistics show that the odds
are stacked against them.

An impressive 82% of pursuits
end in arrest.

Another night,
another adrenaline-fuelled pursuit.

This time,
in the San Fernando Valley.

It's just after midnight.

But the chase
still draws the attention

of residents and visitors alike.

Every single chase, whether
it's low-speed or high-speed,

gets some of the highest ratings,
period.

But this one
was a slow-moving pursuit.

And it was
a stop, start, stop, start.

The San Fernando Police Department

are hot on the tale
of a suspected DUI driver

who has come to a stop in front
of the iconic Northridge Mall.

And the guy's erratic behaviour,

there was obviously
something not right with him.

You never know
where this is gonna go.

The police deploy spike strips

in a desperate attempt
to stop the fleeing vehicle,

but the driver
swerves out of harm's way.

Pursuits can end
in multiple different ways.

You don't know
if they have a weapon,

or if they're suffering
from a mental illness.

So at that point,
that's when you wanna slow it down.

There is no rush to make the arrest.

Get slowly out of the vehicle
with your hands up.

This suspect seems
more intent on getting attention

than getting away.

However, police must shut down
this deadly situation.

The suspect in this pursuit
is screaming. They're yelling.

We wanna try to stop this
as soon as possible.

Your adrenaline is already going
inside the news van.

You're going, going, going, going.
And then you get to the scene,

and you have lights,
you have sirens,

you have people screaming.

Your adrenaline's going even more.

Police resort to extreme measures,

firing multiple
non-lethal bean bag rounds

into the vehicle
in a bid to subdue the suspect.

As the dust settles, officers
approach the door with caution.

Then they pull the suspect out.

The pursuit ended peacefully.

The driver
was arrested without incident.

Great outcome.

Coming up...

I mean, the cameraman in this,
he was very, very close.

That cameraman
was close enough to be burned.

But first...

Probably one of the most tragic
and saddest crime scenes.

And not everybody gets rescued.

Each year, there's an average
of 358,000 house fires.

It can take just 30 seconds

for a small flame
to turn into a major blaze.

In a large city,
you'll get a house fire

once or twice a day
that's actually burning.

It's probably one of the most tragic
and saddest crime scenes I go to.

They are literally on the streets

with what they just woke up
out of bed.

They have none of their belongings.
It's very tragic.

It's 11:50 p.m.,

and the Los Angeles Fire Department
is responding to reports of smoke

coming from a house
in the heart of the city.

The firefighters
are met with a grim reality

when they arrive.

The back of the house
is consumed by the fire.

With every passing second,
the stakes grow higher.

When I first hear
a call of a structure fire

with somebody possibly trapped,

I need to make sure I'm there

at the time they're bringing
that person out of the house

because we ultimately for the news,
wanna see that successful rescue.

Firefighters are on high alert
as they receive radio reports

that an elderly person
may be trapped inside.

They quickly search the house,
but it's all clear.

And not everybody gets rescued.

Unfortunately,
during a secondary search,

sadly, they found
one a victim of the fire

and removed him from the residence.

The 62-year-old male, unfortunately,

has been pronounced deceased
on the scene.

Our main objective is to save lives,

property and the environment
in that order.

And it doesn't always yield
a positive outcome.

We see tragedy and death
on a fairly frequent basis.

Tragically,
in this particular story,

the homeowner passed away
due to the fire,

but we would always circle
this story back around,

and on the upside,
the dog was saved.

And we can see firefighters
carrying this dog out.

Pets are people's family members.

In this case, we did locate
a couple of pets inside.

We were able to get them
out to safety.

Often we'll rinse them down,
clean their nose,

and sometimes provide oxygen
as needed.

Los Angeles,
a city of dreams and nightmares,

has become a battleground

as a ferocious fire
engulfs the Wilmington Motel.

It's 3:15 a.m.,
and there's no time to waste.

With smoke alarms failing
and flames spreading,

it's a race against the odds

to prevent this disaster
from becoming

every first responder's
worst nightmare.

When you pull up
and you see smoke and flames

coming out of, you know,
the second and third story

on a large building like that,
it's scary.

So, this was a significant fire,
where you had...

It well involved fire

blowing out multiple windows
on the second story,

to the extent that people
are jumping out of their rooms

to land maybe 20 feet below
on the asphalt.

The footage is haunting.
People are jumping out of windows.

You've got injured people
on the floor, and sirens.

It's just utter chaos.

One of the first things
when a fire company is on scene,

they perform
what's called a size-up.

And essentially,
they're painting that picture

for all the other units

that are also responding
to that incident.

We have five tactical priorities,
and rescue is the first one.

Our primary concern
is to save life above property.

Sometimes the best way
to rescue them

is to put out the problem.

Panicked residents find themselves
trapped inside with no way out.

With doorways blocked
and the fire spreading rapidly,

their only hope of escape

is through the windows
of the two-story building.

It's a desperate struggle
for survival.

You're witnessing people
jump from a second-story window

onto concrete.

I had to jump.

-The second story.
-What happened?

I had to jump
from the second-story window.

That one up there. I had to jump.

Hey, guys!
We've got a jumper over here!

So, to be on the scene
of something like this,

you have to dig deep
and figure out, "Can you help?

Are you in the way?
Are you in danger?"

I need to film the people injured.

I need to film the flames.

I need to get
lots of different aspects

so that I know when I'm submitting
all this footage to the news,

that they're gonna have
a complete story.

I mean, the cameraman in this,
he was very, very close.

That cameraman
was close enough to be burned.

Even if you're
in proximity of the fire

and you're not
necessarily touching it,

you can absolutely get burned
or you can get injured

because of just how hot
the flames are.

If that heat
is so severe and intense

that you're willing to jump,

that gives you an idea
how intense it is.

I mean, I've been to big fires,

and I've literally had
to be 20, 30, 40, 50 feet away

to get away
from the intense heat.

Coming up...

With an intense fire
and increasing numbers of victims,

our cameraman
must make a tough call.

Chaos engulfs Los Angeles
in the early hours of the morning

as brave emergency responders
engage in a fierce battle

against an inferno raging
through a motel housing dozens.

The scorching heat is so unbearable

that people
are leaping out of windows

in a desperate attempt
to escape the flames.

So, this was a significant fire

to the extent that people
were jumping out of their rooms.

You're witnessing people
jump from a second-story window

onto concrete.

So, depending
on the height of their fall,

we can anticipate severe fractures,
paralysis, or even death.

Now you have
a lot of patients to deal with,

you need to call for an abundance

of additional firefighter paramedics

to triage, treat
and transport everyone.

With increasing amounts
of desperate victims,

the cameraman
makes a selfless decision.

First word that came to mind
was just "humanity."

Capturing footage
is incredibly important,

you know, to tell the story.

It also helps fire departments
train and learn how to do better.

And being able to film and help,
I mean, good on him.

All you wanna do is help.

If the person is in severe pain

or there's something I can do,
I'm gonna try to help them.

You'll see another cameraman
in there.

They drag the person out.
You wanna get that shot.

But at what point do you turn
into a human being and help?

It's a very fine line,
but once you make that switch,

I feel better about myself
when I help

rather than actually film
someone's misery.

Being able to move that victim
out of harm's way

um, was pretty special.

I mean, it's a phenomenal thing.
That's the side of cameramen

you don't often see
in my line of work.

The firefighters finally gain
control over the raging inferno

after a gruelling hour-long battle.

The toll of the flames,
however, is devastating.

Twelve people are rushed
to hospital for treatment,

and the lifeless body of a man

is tragically discovered
inside the motel.

The fire captains suspect arson.

Situated
in Ventura County, California,

Oxnard is the location
of our next story,

where a burglar
has taken inspiration

from the jolly man himself,
Santa Claus.

This guy tries to break into a house
through the chimney.

Not the best idea.

What happens?
He gets stuck, obviously.

My first reaction
to this type of call is,

"What were they doing
and how did they get in there?"

But when there's a will,
there's a way.

And in his case, his way was in.

Somebody decided
to challenge a chimney,

and looks like the chimney won.

How does Santa get
down your chimney?

Not like that, obviously.

No. Unfortunately, real life
doesn't mimic cartoons.

A man's reckless decision
to slide down the chimney

left him trapped
and fighting for his life.

First responders
must now battle to save him.

Throughout your career, you do see
some very interesting things.

I'm sure the firefighters
and the first responders

that were there this evening...
that was a challenging call.

They were professional.
They didn't really care

why that gentleman
was in the chimney,

but they knew that they had
to do everything they could

to actually perform a rescue.

It looked like he was crammed
into that chimney pretty tightly.

This scenario could've been bad.
I've heard stories where someone

is stuck in there,
and no one saw them go down.

If you go down and your lungs
are constricted, you can't shout.

If you can't shout
and you're in a chimney, what next?

You have the potential to not be
found and unfortunately die.

And there have been calls
similar to that

that that's exactly
what the outcome is.

The best way
to actually extricate somebody

is by removing that object
from around the patient

instead of the other way around.

So having to use
lots of different equipment,

utilising things like rotary saws,
chisels, sledgehammers,

I would imagine they were talking
to the patient the whole time.

They were trying to keep him calm,

let them know that they're doing
everything they can to free him.

They got jackhammers outside,

chiselling away
right next to your head.

I wouldn't wanna be in his shoes.
I'm claustrophobic as heck.

No way would I wanna be
in his shoes.

If that was me stuck
in the chimney,

I probably would've passed out
from just freaking out.

It takes three hours
of gruelling effort

for rescue crews
to demolish half of the chimney

and free the trapped man

as he fought for his life
in the narrow confines.

Something like this

is a dream come true
for a cameraman.

You got a situation
that's not normal.

It's bizarre. It's on the outside.

It leaves you thinking,
"What? What the heck is going on?"

I think it's gonna be a money shot

because people wanna see a rescue.
They wanna see a happy ending.

They wanna see
firefighters go in there

and get that guy out
and get him help.

The bad Santa is taken to hospital
wiser for the experience.

Maybe next time,
he'll try the window.

-Coming up...
-It's a bunch of guys

in high-performance vehicles

just going crazy,
doing burnouts and doughnuts.

It is extremely dangerous

because nothing can stop that car
from going into the crowd.

Too fast? Too furious?

Illegal street races and takeovers

have surged over recent years
in California,

and law enforcement
are struggling to stop them.

It is 12:00 a.m.
in South Los Angeles,

and a large group of street racers
have assembled to earn some rubber.

A bunch of guys
in high-performance vehicles

on public streets,

just going crazy,
doing burnouts and doughnuts.

It's become an epidemic now
with street takeovers.

What they are is,
300, 400, 500 people

will block in
a four entrance/exit intersection.

Well, these guys are going crazy.

A street takeover to me

is probably one
of the stupidest things

I've ever encountered
and had to report on.

It's becoming an every night thing

right across Los Angeles
and up to the Bay Area.

It's organised.

They know about it
for days, if not weeks.

Police are powerless
against the massive mobs,

and social media
is spreading the chaos even further.

It is extremely dangerous

because there's nothing
to stop that vehicle

from going into the crowd.

A lot of these street takeovers
that I've had to cover,

the reason why we were sent there

is because there were
multiple injuries, if not death.

A girl was actually killed.

She was standing
in the wrong place at the wrong time

when one of the drivers
sadly lost control.

I've seen street takeovers
with at least 400, 500 people.

And as soon as the police show up,
they're like cockroaches.

The authorities win this battle

by shutting down
the street takeover.

But the war against
these lawless uprisings rages on.

The streets of Los Angeles

remain a hotbed
of chaos and destruction

in a never-ending cycle
of shutdowns and relocations.

Subtitles: Lea Espector
plint.com