WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Dax Neilson is recovering after a shocking electrical explosion in West Valley City Saturday morning.

Electrical apprentice Neilson, 21, was out before 9.15am. with four electricians working on a transformer outside a building in northeast West Valley City.

Neilson said the group of contracted electricians removed wiring that needed to be replaced about 30 to 40 minutes before the explosion.

Everything looked normal. Then everything changed in seconds.

“The next thing I know, whoosh, boom and then a big sudden explosion. “Just heat it all up,” said Neilson, who lives in Herriman. “I closed my eyes, rolled to the ground and stood up to see my co-worker on the ground and on fire.”

While Neilson and other electricians were setting their colleagues on fire, a colleague had already dialed the emergency line, he said. Police and ambulance arrived within minutes.

Battalion Chief Nick Dodge of the West Valley City Fire Department said he called it a “flash bang” and an “electrical flash.” He said they are usually thousands of degrees.

“Imagine you are standing there and a bolt of lightning strikes and explodes half a meter from your face. That’s almost exactly what happened,” Neilson said.

Neilson has third-degree burns on his ears, burns on his cheeks, and his hair was singed from the explosion.

“The entire right side of my hat was torn apart,” he said. “This is where I burn well. “It’s a really bad sunburn.”

Electricians are working on a green transformer, similar to the ones you see in neighborhoods and along roadsides, but larger and tall enough to walk into, Neilson said.

Two of the electricians were transported to local hospitals in good condition, officials said. The other two people were treated at the scene and released.

One person who was burned following the explosion was transported to the University of Utah Health Burn Center in critical condition.

“I think about seeing him rolling on the ground, screaming, his jacket literally bursting into flames from the heat. You could see his skin was falling off. Neilson remembered that he had gloves that bonded with his skin.

Authorities stated that the cause of the explosion is still being investigated.

“We were just sitting there, and then boom,” Neilson said. “The day changed immediately.”