Charlton, MA — Flames lit the sky and homes shook for miles after a commercial compressed natural gas tank powering a semi-truck exploded early Friday morning.
According to the Charlton Police Department, at approximately 12:28 AM on Friday, June 6th, 2025, an officer, on patrol in the area of Route 20 and Gillespie Road, heard a loud explosion and saw flames on the horizon. Charlton Dispatch was immediately inundated with numerous calls of an explosion in the area [residents up to 10 miles away reported being awoken by the noise]. The officer was able to quickly locate the scene of the explosion at 13 Griffin Road, XNG Natural Gas.
When the Charlton Fire Department arrived on the scene, they observed a 40’x70′ commercial building on fire and a natural gas-powered semi-truck outside the building, which appeared to have exploded. A second alarm was immediately transmitted, followed by a rapid upgrade to a third alarm, as companies worked to extinguish the building fire.
Crews were familiar with firefighting on this property as the very building they were now working to save had only been built a few years prior after a fire had razed the previous structure. The fire required 1300′ of Large Diameter Hose (LDH) to be laid in one of the two driveways, allowing for a tanker shuttle to be established on Route 20.
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The fire was placed under control after approximately 40 minutes, but crews remained on the scene assisting with the investigation until approximately 6:15 AM. The Central Mass Sparks Rehab-78 was on scene providing resources to all personell involved in the incident.
The Charlton Police Department went on to say, “The preliminary investigation indicates that three vehicles and the commercial building suffered substantial damage from fire and that there was a significant explosion in the area as a result of a large commercial compressed natural gas tank being compromised on one of the vehicles.”
The incident remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Section, Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad, Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section, Massachusetts District 7 Fire Investigation Unit, and the Charlton Police Department.
No injuries were reported by any responders or civilians.
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