Investigators are trying to figure out what caused an explosion that rocked part of a Queens neighborhood on Wednesday.
The sounds of screams could be heard between loud pops from a fiery DOT truck parked on the side of the road at Vernon Boulevard and 47th Avenue. People were seen sprinting from the busy Long Island City blocks as emergency crews simultaneously worked to evacuate those nearby and put out the truck.
One FDNY lieutenant was spotted ushering people out of neighboring buildings and down the block, away from any potential blast radius.
Around 1 p.m., witnesses say one of the DOT crew members was using a fire extinguisher to try and put out the flames that quickly overtook the large vehicle.
A pothole repair crew was said to be on a lunch break when they noticed the truck smoking before it eventually caught fire. No crew members or any other bystanders appeared to be injured.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The intensity of the smoke forced tenants on the block to get outside.
News
"We ran through a cloud of smoke onto the sidewalk and crossed the street," said Tom, who lives on the second floor of one of the neighboring buildings.
Neighbors who wanted to help said they dialed 9-1-1 repeatedly but there was no operator on the other end of the line.
"We tried calling and it would ring and then it would say 'your call is going through to a message' and then it would sound like a fax machine, and then that was it," Chris Misk said.
"911 line was busy. I tried to call again, this time was a little beep it was not going through, I try again and it was like a strange voice, like a voicemail," Hilma Abiew said.
A police department spokesperson said the city's 9-1-1 system had experienced "a slight increase" in calls on Wednesday, and added the city was "actively working to improve services so wait times are rare."
