Diplomatic security agents train to survive flames

There is growing concern inside the intelligence community that extremist groups may launch new attacks against American embassies and other facilities. Now the agents charged with protecting them are getting special training, learning how to counter one of the cheapest, most accessible and lethal weapons in the field.

The State Department keeps an elite group of about 100 agents ready to deploy within as little as six hours if a post is at risk of an attack, reports CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan. They are part of the "mobile security deployments" team.

During a training exercise led by the New York Fire Department, the elite team of diplomatic security agents rushed into a burning building to rescue a man portraying an ambassador trapped inside.

Navigating smoke and evading flames, they secured the ambassador and brought him to safety.

The training exercise was initiated after the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya.

That night, Ambassador Chris Stevens died from apparent smoke inhalation.

Now agents are taught how to search and rescue while fires rage around them, with temperatures peaking near 500 degrees.

Flames can fill a room in just four minutes -- the toxic smoke can make a victim pass out instantly.

Christian Railsback is the team medic who is responsible for resuscitating those injured and keeping the team alive.

"If we're going into a fire, if we're going and being in black smoke, the chance of upper airway respiratory burns is very very high. That's what's going to kill us first," Railsback said.

Al Qaeda has endorsed using fire as a weapon, yet another threat these agents must guard against.

"We're training to take on some of the worst case scenarios you can imagine," assistant director for training Mark Hipp said. "Basically, we're preparing for all out guerrilla warfare."

Hipp said there have been 70 assaults on U.S. personnel and facilities since Benghazi.

"Those that are committing those attacks are some of the most ruthless and dangerous groups in the world, and we're operating on their home turf," Hipp said.

In just the last year, these agents have deployed to 23 hot spots around the world, including Libya, where they evacuated the U.S. embassy in July before an armed militia seized parts of the compound.

Agent Brian Bagwan said the toughest part is completing the mission while keeping the team safe.

"When you have uncertainty, when you have the unknown out there, anywhere where we go, the places we go, that's what makes me nervous, that's what makes it more dangerous sometimes," Bagwan said.

This team was not in Benghazi on the night of the 2012 attack, but the hope is that this training could make a difference in future assaults. And with more extremists groups like ISIS targeting Americans, the threat level is constant.