Toppled batteries spark explosion in Calais

CALAIS – A small explosion ripped through Spring Street on Sunday, bringing residents out of their morning lounge chairs.

Around 11:25 a.m., Fred Christie was loading items onto the bed of his pickup truck when some flashlight batteries fell, creating a spark that apparently set gasoline fumes on fire. The fire spread to a generator in the truck bed which is believed to have exploded.

“Most likely what happened, there was some residual fuel laying there and there was a bunch of batteries, and I think things fell on top of each other and probably a little spark ignited the fuel vapor, that’s what it looks like,” Calais Fire Chief Danny Carlow said.

When members of the Calais Fire Department arrived, the back of the truck bed was engulfed in flames that were spreading toward the cab. Firefighters quickly brought the fire under control.

An emergency medical technician examined a small burn on Christie’s arm, but Christie refused treatment.

Neighbor Marie McGarrigle, who lives several houses away, said the explosion startled her.

“I was sitting here reading and I heard BANG. It lifted me out of my chair.”

She said the only other time she’d heard a similar sound was when the city was doing repairs to the street and workers were using dynamite to remove ledge.

“God help us,” McGarrigle said. “I looked out to see if my front porch was there. That’s how bad it was.”

Carlow warned people to be careful.

“Anytime you are dealing with open fuel vapors, you have to be very careful because they will seek out and find an ignition source,” he said.