'Backdraft Explosion' Levels Two-Story Building - Paris, Texas

Raw footage from LiveLeak: What officials are initially calling a "backdraft explosion" levels (At the 50 second mark left in the video) a two story building. (see note below).

Firefighters were toned out at 5 AM for a fully involved structure fire just off the square in Paris, Texas. The fire extended to the southern exposure on Bohnam street, a two story brick building with businesses downstairs and loft apartments upstairs. Watch the windows break and the glass fall inside the building. The telephone pole took a beating, too. One firefighter was injured from flying debris.

More on Statter911.com and the Paris News

Note: 'Backdraft Explosion' is in quotes as that is what those on the scene are referring to it as for now. However, it would appear there could be other causes for this as many of those commenting have indicated, so...take the headline for what it is for now.

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Location: Paris, TX (Show Map)

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Comment by Jim Seargent on July 1, 2008 at 5:09pm: I think it's safe to say that "backdraft" is a term used to give the general population something to answer their questions. With the fire floor in free burn the potential for backdraft is all but gone. All had auto-vented and with the amount of fire it seems as though an interior pocket is unlikely. In the event that there was a sealed space, I can see a flashover, but that was violent. I would also suspect that the gases that could be brought into a pocket on the fire floor would be far to laden with the products of combustion, rather than the O2 needed for a backdraft. I may be prejudiced, against a backdraft, because in all my time on a department, I have never seen it happen.

Comment by eric knox on July 1, 2008 at 5:07pm: ive seen videos of propain tanks bleavy and that but i dont think that would create the force to level the structure unless it was a large sized tank which seems unlikely

Comment by Noel Hanrahan on July 1, 2008 at 4:46pm: I have to agree, too much airflow for a backdraft. Wouldn't like to hazard a guess, but I didn't see the flames change colour to indicate in introduction of a chemical of some sort, although not all chemicals prosuce colour changes. I'm interested to find out what caused it.

Comment by FireCat on July 1, 2008 at 4:23pm: "Holy sh@#" says it all.

Comment by Chris Davis on July 1, 2008 at 4:03pm: That looks like no backdraft I have ever seen. Looks more like a chem tank or a propane tank that finally blew. And having lived in Paris before I wouldn't doubt if some methhead had some chems in that building.

Comment by Ethan Richards on July 1, 2008 at 2:35pm: "Holy sh@#! Holy cow!" You can tell where this guy is from! Thats awesome that noone got hurt though.

Comment by Firefighter Nation WebChief on July 1, 2008 at 2:27pm: I added a note above about the headline ... that is what its being called now and why we put it in quotes for now...since that likely may not end up being the actual result.

Comment by Brotherhood Instructors, LLC on July 1, 2008 at 2:24pm: This fire appears to be well vented at the level of the fire well before the explosion. From the visual information in the video and in my opinion, I don't believe that this will turn out to be a smoke explosion or backdraft.

They will probably come across a propane tank that had BLEVE'ed or an acetylene tank that ruptured. Anyone else with thoughts?

Comment by Paul Tate on July 1, 2008 at 2:22pm: I've got agree. That fire was well vented and burning with adequate air. That explosion looks like it came from somewhere other than a backdraft.