Firefighters in St. Louis (11 images)

A St. Louis Fire Department master stream protects a building as a gas line burns after a Laclede Gas Company crew using a backhoe broke a gas line in St. Louis on July 12, 2012. When firefighters arrived to investigate a gas leak, something ignited the gas, sparking the inferno. Neither the firefighters nor the four Laclede Gas workers on the scene were injured. Flames shot over 40 feet into the air for several hours while Laclede crews worked to shut off the natural gas supply. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

St. Louis firefighters use cold rags to cool down while resting in a school after working a fire caused when a Laclede Gas Company crew using a backhoe broke a gas line in St. Louis on July 12, 2012. When firefighters arrived to investigate a gas leak, something ignited the gas, sparking the inferno. Neither the firefighters nor the four Laclede Gas workers on the scene were injured. Flames shot over 40 feet into the air for several hours while Laclede crews worked to shut off the natural gas supply. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

St. Louis firefighters work to contain a fire on the roof of an apartment building during a five alarm fire in St. Louis on July 17, 2012. Nearly 200 apartments in the complex were involved after a fire spread throughout the roof of the buildings. No injuries were reported. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

A backhoe sits consumed by fire with flames jumping 30-50 feet in the air after a Laclede Gas Company crew broke a gas line in St. Louis on July 12, 2012. When firefighters arrived to investigate a gas leak, something ignited the gas, sparking the inferno. Neither the firefighters nor the four Laclede Gas workers on the scene were injured. Flames shot over 40 feet into the air for several hours while Laclede crews worked to shut off the natural gas supply. UPI/Bill Greenblatt