Cleanup continues following fatal tanker explosion in Frederick

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

The investigation and cleanup continued Sunday evening into the deadly tanker truck explosion in Frederick.

What's left of the tanker truck has been removed and the tree it crashed into. The ground was charred, and a home was hit by the explosion leaving shattered glass, missing walls and a displaced family. Like many in Frederick, retired Fire Marshal Tim May was inside his home when he heard the loud noise.

"That's when the first explosion went off, the major one, and I saw the fireball and we knew obviously something was going on," May said.

A ring doorbell video shows the moment a tanker truck crashed off Maryland Route-15, exploding and killing the driver, causing a large brush fire and severely damaging homes and vehicles.

"It was scary, and then you could start seeing plumes of fire and smoke coming up all at once," a neighbor named Jeff said.

On Sunday, the Maryland Department of the Environment told 11-News that it recovered product by mixing it with firefighting foam and water from the remains of the tanker. Officials said the leaked product was contained. MDE oversaw work to flush the storm drain system as well.

"It's pretty devastating. That tree is completely gone over here," neighborhood resident Joe Craw said.

People who live there said there needs to be more than trees for protection from Route-15. Brad Hammond lives next door to the home that's destroyed. He said accidents happen here often.

"The shrubbery is ridiculous. It's useless, pretty much. We should have a guardrail. We should have a wall, preferably," Hammond said

Next, MDE expects to clean up soil at the explosion site as they continue to monitor the situation.

"Even though (route) 15 is really loud, it's always been a quiet neighborhood. We would never expect anything like this," Jeff said.

The Maryland State police said they are waiting on confirmation of the identity of the driver while their team continues their investigation into the cause of the crash.

Original Story

A tanker exploded Saturday into massive flames in Frederick, killing the driver and damaging other vehicles and surrounding homes.

As many as five vehicles and six homes were damaged by the flames caused by a tanker that crashed into a tree shortly before noon, Maryland State Police said. No other injuries or fatalities were immediately reported.

More than 100 firefighters from several counties were called to the scene.Southbound U.S. Route 15 reopened at around 2:30 p.m., but the northbound lanes will remain closed for several hours, state police said.

The explosion also caused a large brush fire on Route 15. Fire Chief Tom Coe confirmed at a news conference that all fires were extinguished, and the investigation is ongoing.

"The Maryland Department of the Environment , the Frederick County Hazardous Materials Team and the Frederick City Department of Public Works are on the scene and have confirmed the hazardous materials involved in the incident are contained and they were contained prior to reaching Carroll Creek," Coe said.

Officials are investigating what kind of flammable liquid the tanker was hauling.

Frederick's mayor said there was no breach of the municipal sewer system or the drinking water.

Video below: Flames tower above Route 15 after tanker explosion