Video caught the moment that a pizza parlor owner in Texas was nearly killed by a pizza oven explosion Sunday, KTXS reported.
Fernando Fuentez, the owner of Lily’s Pizza, said the explosion happened when he was opening his shop and trying to light the pizza oven’s pilot, according to KTXS.
The video shows the pilot catch fire and send flames shooting at Fuentez, knocking him down.
Though he felt the heat of the blast, Fuentez said he did not initially know there was an explosion, KTXS reported. (RELATED: REPORT: 31 Killed In Massive Explosion In Restaurant)
In the video, Fuentez, who was burned on his hand and parts of his body, can be seen tearing off his shirt as he runs for cover.
“I watched the video and it’s terrifying,” he said, according to KTXS. “I thought there was more to it than what happened. I’m just counting my blessings. An angel was with me. God, Jesus, somebody, an angel was right there beside me and pushed me out of the way.”
Fuentez reportedly said the explosion was a “life changing” and he is trying to improve safety protocols to thwart future oven explosions.
The cause of the blast “is now believed to be a gas bubble that can’t be seen, heard or smelled,” KTXS’s Karina Hollingsworth reported.
Fuentez reportedly reflected on his brush with death by saying life can end “in a split second.” On Sunday he had simply come to open the restaurant because the manager was off that day and workers didn’t have a key, he told KTXS.
“That’s all I was supposed to do,” he reportedly said. “Just open the front door.”
Despite the blast and the burns, Fuentez is back at work making pizzas for “the community he knows and loves,” KTXS reported.