YORBA LINDA – A sequence of explosions near an electrical substation that injured two firefighters Sunday night was captured on a police dashboard camera.

Two Brea police officers, in separate squad cars, were on Yorba Linda Boulevard when they saw an explosion up ahead.

Caught on tape: Explosion injures firefighters

“Something just exploded,” one of the officers said.

The officers discovered a smoking manhole and waited for county firefighters to arrive.

In the video, a firefighter and a captain approach the manhole, which had already popped off, to take a peek inside.

“They wanted to get a closer look to see what we had, and that’s when there was a third explosion,” said Capt. Marc Stone, an Orange County Fire Authority spokesman.

The explosion tossed the captain about 10 feet onto a hill. The other firefighter was shaken up but headed up the hill to render aid to the captain – when there was another explosion. As the firefighter and officers dragged the captain to safety, there was another explosion.

With each explosion, a ball of fire shot up from the manhole. In all, there were at least eight explosions.

The firefighters were treated at a hospital for first-degree burns and are expected to make a full recovery.

The incident, which knocked out power to 3,385 Southern California Edison customers, occurred on Yorba Linda Boulevard near Fairmont Boulevard at about 8 p.m. Sunday. The explosions stopped when Edison staffers turned off all of the underground equipment.

Authorities were continuing an investigation into the cause of the incident.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3709 or desalazar@ocregister.com