A Winnipeg firefighter is sharing his story after being thrown by the force of an explosion at an industrial fire.

"I still don't know what exploded or how it exploded or why. But we ended up flying back 10 to 15 feet," said Chad Swayze.

He and other firefighters were responding to a blaze at Omniglass, a fiberglass manufacturer on Sherwin Road in the St. James Industrial Area early Monday.

Swayze and three other firefighters were thrown back by the explosion. They experienced a range of injuries but survived.

"Time slowed down at that second. I started to think about everything I had done in my life - my experiences at different fires," said Swayze.

He managed to escape without major injuries on Monday. He said his left leg took the brunt of the impact, along with his left elbow and left arm. Afterwards, he was left with a stiff back, stiff neck and bruising, said Swayze.

Two other firefighters suffered concussions.

Swayze was also on duty at a St. Boniface fire in February 2007 that killed two of his colleagues.

He said he hates to think of what would have happened if the explosion at the Sherwin Road fire in St. James had hit when firefighters were inside the building, rather than being outside of it at the time.

The cause of the Sherwin Road fire remains under investigation. Crews remained on scene more than 24 hours after the blaze to soak any hot spots with water.

The owner of Omniglass told CTV News he believes the fire caused roughly $5 million in damage. He said it's impossible to say right now when the business will re-open. 

- with a report from CTV's Jon Hendricks