a chemical fire turns day into night and sends a community searching for cover. >> quite frankly, it looked like we had hell on earth down there. >> october 4th, 2011. a fire breaks out 30 miles south of dallas at the magnablend chemical plant in waxahachie, texas. the blaze ignites thousands of gallons of liquid chemicals and within minutes transforms acres of buildings into a sea of flames. >> once it got to the products, typically the mineral oil and the hydrocarbon based products petroleum based products, that's going to light off and continue until there's no more fire load. >> fireballs explode while a thick black blanket of smoke spews hundreds of feet in the air. the morning sky grows so dark, local resident chris dillinger believes a storm is brewing on the horizon. >> at first i thought, man, is that a rain cloud? i thought the skies were clear. i take a second look.