An Oldsmobile Delta 88 caught fire Monday night on Interstate 95 in Hampden and then exploded.

According to Maine State Trooper Josh D’Angelo, who received the call concerning the fire at 8:10 p.m., Carey Hood, 20, of Princeton was driving north on the interstate when she and her passengers saw smoke coming from under the dashboard. She pulled the car over and everybody got out.

Hood and her passengers managed to remove a few belongings from the trunk before flames engulfed the car, D’Angelo said. It then exploded.

Riding with Hood were Chris Neptune, 19; Eric Newell, 21; and Tashina Newell, 21, all from Princeton. D’Angelo said nobody was injured.

The Hampden Fire Department arrived with a firetruck and an ambulance. It took about 20 minutes to put out the fire, Assistant Fire Chief Elwyn Brewer said. Noting that the engine compartment was nearly untouched, Brewer said the plastics in the car’s interior kept burning, and there were a number of smaller explosions, probably from the gas tank or shock absorbers.

The Oldsmobile’s windows either melted or blew out. The interior was reduced to springs and bare metal.

A wrecker from Bouchard Towing arrived about 9 p.m. to remove the charred remains.

The Brewer Police Department will hold a meeting Wednesday night to discuss community policing strategies.

Chief Steven Barker and Cpl. Jason Moffitt will lead the meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Brewer Auditorium on State Street. All Brewer residents, business owners and residents are invited to attend, Moffitt said.

The department is considering a community policing board and is looking for potential leaders, Moffitt said.

The board would allow community members to collaborate with the Police Department to solve law enforcement problems and to come up with new approaches to combat crime.

– Compiled by NEWS reporter Isaac Kimball