MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. -- A 17-year-old boy from New River was injured in an electrical blast at a community park in the unincorporated neighborhood of Anthem Friday.

• Watch: New River Boy Burned

Jacob Deaton, 17, was playing football with his friends at the park.

According to his father, Terry Deaton, he walked over to a building with bathrooms at the park. As he walked around a brick wall, a piece of equipment called a "service entrance section" exploded, a deputy with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said.

The device, owned by Sprint Cellular, is where Arizona Public Service connects to the customer, according to Damon Gross with APS media relations.

“Everybody said they heard this big buzz and then ‘bang’ and a massive fireball,” Terry Deaton said. “(Jacob) was right in front of it. Set him all on fire. He was burned up really bad along the side of his arms and face.”

Jacob was airlifted to Maricopa Medical Center. According to his father, he did suffer significant burns but will recover.

Teenager Chance Aker witnessed the explosion. He said he heard a loud sound and then saw Jacob running away from the brick wall.

“It was a sizzle and a bang at the end,” Aker said. “Then you just saw a large thick black cloud of smoke.”

Deputies from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident. As of Friday night, they were not sure what caused the device to explode.

APS representatives inspected the service entrance section to try to conclude what happened.