Just one of the hazards of the job.

One of the crazy things about fires is that they can very quickly become explosions. While firefighters are aware of this (and take precautions against it), the average Joe does not — leading to multiple instances of people getting way, way too close to something on fire and suffering the consequences.

Even though firefighters take precautions against explosions, that doesn’t mean they’re not occasionally surprised by them. For example, in this video, a firefighter nearly loses his head after an explosion sends shrapnel his direction.

Sgt almost killed in scrapyard explosion. pic.twitter.com/vDwX9WIRgm

— Officer Ben (@OfficerbenTOPO) April 21, 2025