Truck explodes, catches fire in Culver’s parking lot

QUINCY — A County Market maintenance truck with refrigeration and maintenance equipment exploded and caught fire a little after 1 p.m. Wednesday while sitting in a parking lot on Broadway.

The truck was in the Culver’s parking lot, west of the 25th and Broadway intersection.

Witnesses said they saw multiple explosions that “just kept coming” and neighboring buildings shook.

Steve Salrin, a deputy chief with the Quincy Fire Department, said he was driving on Broadway on his way to lunch when he saw smoke. He pulled into an empty lot between Culver’s and the Blessing Employer Clinic.

“Once I got out of my car, there were additional small explosions,” he said. “(The truck) looks like someone took a can opener to it.”

He said the driver of the truck was either headed to Culver’s for lunch or had just finished eating at Culver’s when he punched the key fob to remotely lock (or unlock) the truck.

Salrin believes a leak of some type of flammable gas led to the explosions. He said parts of the truck, including compartment doors, were found on the north side of Broadway.