One minute, police Sgt. Chester Kahalepuna was keeping traffic away from crews working on a leaky gas line on King Street. The next, he heard an explosion and saw a man leap from the manhole and run — his clothes ablaze — as a wall of fire erupted.

"He was on fire coming across to the bus stop," Kahalepuna said.

Thus began a spectacular fire at 11:20 a.m. yesterday that injured two workers for The Gas Company, closed businesses, blocked traffic for hours and affected hundreds of people in the densely populated Palama neighborhood.

People were either evacuated from buildings or urged to stay inside as flames licked higher than the lamppost and traffic lights at the busy corner of King and Palama streets.

Still, knots of residents looked on from a distance as firefighters poured water in the hole to contain the fire and Gas Company workers searched for the proper shutoff valve.

Pressure from the gas line made the water shoot back up into the air like a geyser.

Tamashiro Market, the landmark seafood specialist with the famous crab hanging out front, had to close from about 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. as the fire raged.

"Customers had to leave, and employees had to remain inside until they could contain the gas leak," said store president Cyrus Tamashiro. "It was scary."

The fire began as the crew tried to repair a gas leak, said Gas Company spokesman Steve Golden.

When one worker pulled a line stopper out of one of the pipes, the metal-against-metal friction apparently sparked the fire, he said.

Meanwhile, other crews had to work to cut off a series of valves in the area to stop more gas from pouring into the line — and feeding the fire — while trying to disrupt as few customers as possible.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and sent a continuing stream of water into the hole. Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said the water helps cool the pipes and surrounding area and also helps prevent other pipes and lines from melting from the intense heat.

By 1:45 p.m. the Gas Company had stopped enough of the gas from entering the line for workers to repair the leak. Permanent repair to the line was completed around 4 p.m. and roads were fully reopened 15 minutes later, Golden said.

Kahalepuna, the police officer who was working a special-duty shift for the utility company yesterday, said the fire began with a "whooomp" like the sound of a gas grill igniting "but like 200 times more."

When Kahalepuna saw the man run across King Street in flames, he wondered if he should tackle the man to help put out the fire. By the time he reached the gas worker on the other side of King Street, the flames had died and the man sat down.

"We took all his clothes off because they were singed," Kahalepuna said, adding that the man was shaken but answered questions. "He was able to talk," he said.

The man, in his 30s, was burned over about 5 percent of his body, and was expected to remain overnight at Straub Clinic and Hospital as a precaution, Golden said. He said a second crew member, in his 50s, who was standing next to the manhole when the fire began was treated and released at Straub for a burn on his ear.

Golden said both workers suffered only minor injuries because of the blue fire-retardant suits that all Gas Company workers are required to wear.

Tamashiro said the incident cost the store all of its lunch business and much of the busy afternoon customer traffic. "Friday and Saturday are our busiest days of the week," he said.

After watching the flames flare high above their heads, Tamashiro said he had no question that officials were doing the right thing in asking area businesses to close and people to leave or remain indoors.

"Safety first," he said. "They didn't want anybody walking around the area."

The area is also home to Kaumakapili Church, Ka'iulani Elementary School, a number of small businesses and several low-rise apartments.

Tom Kim, owner of Tom's Chevron across the street from Kaumakapili Church, was advised to leave by police, he said. But Kim refused, saying he wanted to protect his gas station, convenience store and car wash.

"I stayed just in case something else really went wrong," Kim said.

At about 11:30 a.m. when police blocked off King Street, Kim's business halted. "After that it was dead — no one was buying gas, no one was buying groceries," he said.

Kim estimated that during the almost four hours that the street remained closed he lost at least $1,000 in business, but said he didn't mind. "I was just hoping it wasn't serious," he said.

Incidents such as this one are rare but the utility takes precautions, like fire retardant suits, just in case, Golden said.

Golden, who has been working with the utility for 25 years, said "this is the first I've seen" flames raging so high.