New Portland Road in Gorham reopened around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday, more than five hours after a truck carrying propane rolled over and forced police to shut down the road.

Gorham Deputy Fire Chief Jim Poitras said the truck, owned by Breggy Oil Service of Portland, was carrying about 2,800 gallons of propane when it rolled over shortly before 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of New Portland Road and Libby Avenue, which is a roundabout, after its rear wheels fell off their axle. The truck’s driver was not injured.

“We closed down the entire area,” said Poitras. A nearby home and an auto body shop did not have to be evacuated.

Emergency responders removed about 1,000 gallons of propane from the truck – the propane was transferred to another truck – which lightened the load and allowed a wrecker to pull the truck into an upright position. The wrecker service then towed the propane delivery truck away.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation by Gorham police and the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division. State police will examine the truck to determine if it was safe to drive.

Poitras said firefighters used extreme caution because if there had been a propane leak, an ignition source could have started a fire or triggered an explosion. If there had been a leak, Poitras said, the town’s fire trucks were prepared to spray water on the gas.

Poitras said the truck did not leak propane, but as a precaution the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and a crew from Central Maine Power Co. were called in.

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