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Caught on camera: Smoking manhole cover explodes as Florida firefighters investigate blaze

Click to play video: 'Florida firefighters escape injury in manhole explosion'
Florida firefighters escape injury in manhole explosion
St. Petersburg, Florida firefighters responded to a call Tuesday about smoke billowing from a manhole cover when it suddenly blew up – May 25, 2016

St. Petersburg, Florida firefighters are lucky to have escaped serious injury on Tuesday after a manhole that was billowing smoke suddenly blew up.

Video of the incident recorded firefighters responding to a call about a faulty transformer below the street, which was sending huge plumes of smoke rising from the sidewalk.

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Then without warning, a blast turned the smoke to fire at the same time a pair of firefighters walk by the manhole.

Fortunately no one was injured in the explosion, but several nearby businesses were temporarily closed due to the incident.

Electrical crews replaced the faulty transformer with a temporary one, though a permanent fix could take days.

The electrical company says it could take multiple days to determine what caused the transformer to set fire and explode.

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