One of the things about the video that's very disturbing is the amount of time that took place between when it caught fire and the first hose began shooting water. For those who haven't watched the video, the news cameraman who shot the footage has included a real-time timer to illustrate the speed at which the building became fully involved. Unfortunately, it also highlights just how much time elapsed before you even hear the first sirens arriving. And even after the first truck is on scene, they had a hard time maneuvering close enough due to the front entrance access being blocked by vehicles, people, etc. Perhaps the best indicator of fast the fire progressed and how little time anyone had to navigate around inside the building is at 4:30 on the timer when he has gone around to one of the side doors and yells out to see if anyone inside could hear him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... xeo#t=295s
The dense, black smoke has totally consumed every square inch of space from ceiling to about 12" above the floor with flames occupying that area12" space. It took me longer to type this reply than those people had from the time they realized they needed to exit the building and when they could no longer breathe, let alone try and navigate their way to safety.