As far as I can tell, they did the right thing. The situation got dangerous for those responding, so they moved away to safety. No use putting a person's life in danger over some equipment.

I've seen similar things happen in construction. Guys running machines along side a ditch and the ditch starts to slowly cave in. Sometimes it's worth it to try and save the equipment, but most of the time it's better to just jump out and get away while the equipment falls in. At the end of the day, the equipment can be replaced.....the operator can't.