Explosion blows doors off Port building

Port Washington police officers and Fire Chief Mark Mitchell responded to Lakeland Cartage late Wednesday morning after an explosion went off in a maintenance garage.

Police Chief Kevin Hingiss said nearby residents called about 11:40 a.m. Wednesday to report the explosion, which blew out the garage doors and a portion of the roof.

A number of calls were received by police, with some callers reporting they saw a puff of smoke, he said.

There were two workers inside the building working to clean a tanker truck used to haul soapy water from Kleen Test Products, Hingiss said. The employees were heating a bolt when they heard what sounded like “a very muffled explosion,” he said.

The next thing they knew, Hingiss said, the hatch atop of tanker truck blew up.

No one was injured during the incident, Hingiss said

Mitchell told the employees to notify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the accident, he added.