WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Dax Neilson is recovering after a shocking electric explosion Saturday morning in West Valley City.
Before 9:15 a.m. Neilson, a 21-year-old electrical apprentice, was out with four electricians working on a transformer outside of a building northeast of West Valley City.
The group, who are contracted electricians, removed wires that needed to be replaced for about 30-40 minutes before the explosion, Neilson said.
Everything seemed normal. Then, within seconds, everything changed.
“Next thing I know, bzzz, boom, and then a big flash explosion. Just heat everywhere,” said Neilson, who lives in Herriman. “I closed my eyes, rolled to the ground, and stand up and see that my coworker is on the ground and on fire.”
While Neilson and other electricians were patting down their colleague on fire, one colleague was already dialing EMS, he said. Police and ambulance showed up within minutes.
Battalion Chief Nick Dodge with the West Valley City Fire Department said he calls this a “flash explosion” and an “electrical flash.” He said they’re typically thousands of degrees.
“Pretend you’re standing there and a lightning bolt hits two feet from your face and it explodes. That’s almost exactly what happened,” Neilson said.
Neilson has third-degree burns on his ears, burns on his cheeks, and his hair burnt off from the explosion.
“The whole right side of my hat disintegrated,” he said. “That’s where I got my good burn at. A real bad sunburn.”
The electricians were working on a green transformer, similar to the ones you see in neighborhoods and along roads, except bigger and tall enough to walk into, Neilson said.
Officials said two of the electricians were transported to local hospitals in fair condition. Another two were treated and released at the scene.
One person, who was on fire after the explosion, was transported to University of Utah Health’s Burn Center in critical condition.
“I keep thinking about seeing him rolling on the ground, screaming, his jacket literally ignited in flames just from the heat. You could see his skin falling off. He had gloves on that had kinda merged with his skin,” Neilson recalled.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, officials said.
“We were just sitting there, then out of nowhere — boom,” Neilson said. “Day changed immediately.”
