text: 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 didn'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 didn'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 .
target: Shiraz 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  Nawaz evacuated the area .