This is the incredible moment a man narrowly missed being burnt alive by a massive fireball which erupted from the pavement . Father-of-two Shiraz Nawaz said he felt lucky to be alive after the 15-foot flames shot out of the manhole just seconds after he had walked over it in a busy street in the West Midlands . The 36-year-old had been on his way to his local takeaway when he heard buzzing from the ground just a few feet behind him . Flames as high as 15ft tall erupted from a manhole in the West Midlands just moments after a pedestrian had walked over it . Shiraz Nawaz , 36 , said he felt lucky to be alive after he narrowly missed being burnt by flames shooting out of the manhole . As he turned around he noticed the charred ground and watched on as thick black smoke began billowing from the manhole . The smoke was followed by a huge blast of flame which shot out 15-foot of the ground on the pedestrian walkway . Further bursts of flame and thick black plumes of smoke were to follow . Despite his shock , the building contractor was able to grab his phone in time to film the terrifying incident . 'Had it literally been a few seconds earlier I would have been walking right over it , ' said a shaken Mr Shiraz . Mr Nawaz said he had been walking to his local takeaway when he heard buzzing from the ground just a few feet behind him and noticed the blackened cover . As he watched on in shock , thick black smoke began to escape from the manhole in the busy street in Shirley , Solihull . ' I 'm so lucky I did n't get burned . I think I used up one of my lives right there . ' I 've never seen anything like it , and I have been in the building trade . ' Miraculously nobody was hurt in the incident , thanks to Mr Shiraz who had evacuated the nearby takeaway . The former gas engineer told the staff to turn off the gas supply and also rang the fire service after the incident in the busy Stratford Road , Shirley , Solihull . Firefighters extinguished the blaze , which they said was caused by a fire in an underground link box - which distributes electricity - below the manhole . Neighbouring properties had to be evacuated and many others lost power for several hours as crews tackled the electrical fire which was thought to have started accidentally . Shiraz , who now fits kitchens and bathrooms , said : 'To think that I had just walked over that . 'The flames kept shooting up - maybe five or six times . The smoke was followed by a quick blast of flame which shot out of the manhole on the pedestrian walkway . Flames shot up to a startling 15-foot high and could be reaching the top of the nearby shop and take away fronts . ' I 'm a building contractor so I knew that when I heard the noises it was something to do with electrics . It was like a buzzing . ' I knew what it was but I did n't expect flames to come shooting out straight away or anything like that . Shiraz was walking from his home to the Dixie Chicken shop around the corner from his home when he saw the flames at around 7pm on Monday . ' I got my phone out because I heard the actual noise and I think I saw a flash , ' he said . ' I think I managed to get it on film just as the first real flames came up . 'It looked like it was coming from a manhole cover . It was quite shocking . ' I told the guys in the shop to switch off the gas and get everyone out . I told them to stop any unassuming person from walking down the road while I stayed on the other side . Flames were followed by more plumes of dark smoke continued to billow up out of the charred ground reaching several feet high . Miraculously nobody was hurt in the incident after Shiraz evacuated the nearby takeaway , told them to turn off their gas supply , and called the fire service . 'The guy in the shop grabbed me a couple of burgers after everything , so I guess it had a happy ending . ' A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said : 'We had a number of calls about about it - probably five or six , maybe a couple more . 'It involved a fire in an underground electrical link box . The electrical supply was isolated by Western Power . 'Power was isolated to surrounding homes and premises for four hours . 'Three people were evacuated from one of the properties . 'We used a CO2 extinguisher and a hose real with foam , because it was an electrical fire . It was accidental . ' Western Power Distribution workers were later seen repairing the man hole cover in Shirley , Solihull . The area had been evacuated and blocked off as Western Power Distribution employees worked to fix the underground link box . Incredibly no-one was hurt in the incident and quick-thinking Shiraz managed to grab his phone in time to take a film of the astonishing flames .
NawazShiraz Nawaz felt lucky to be alive after the flames shot out the manhole . The fire erupted just moments after he walked over it in the busy street . Incredibly no-one was hurt in the incident after Shiraz Nawaz evacuated the area .