A plumber got into his car on a quiet New Jersey street Monday morning, turned the key, and the vehicle exploded with enough force to blow debris across the road and damage neighboring homes.
Story Snapshot
- A car exploded at about 5:40 a.m. on Congressional Lane in Totowa, New Jersey on July 13, 2026, injuring the driver and damaging nearby townhomes.
- First responders and Totowa Mayor John Coiro pointed to a leaking acetylene tank in the trunk as the likely cause, triggered when the driver started the car.
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and a bomb squad responded and ruled out a bomb.
- No official forensic report has been released, and investigators have not confirmed the final cause as of this writing.
What Happened on Congressional Lane
The blast hit the Hickory Hill Estates neighborhood just before sunrise. The driver, a 28-year-old man described by most outlets as a plumber, was inside the car when it exploded. He was taken to a hospital. Debris flew across the street and struck at least one nearby home. Neighbors described the sound as a single, violent concussive blast with no fire following it. That detail matters, and we will come back to it.
Mayor Coiro confirmed the broad strokes quickly. The driver was a plumber. He had an acetylene tank in the trunk. Scanner audio captured by News12 New Jersey spelled it out plainly: “Possibly acetylene. Plumber started the car and it ignited.” Fire officials told reporters they believed the tank had been leaking and that starting the car set it off. The ATF and a bomb squad arrived, checked the scene, and ruled out any explosive device.
Why Acetylene in a Car Trunk Is Genuinely Dangerous
Acetylene is not like a propane tank you might toss in a pickup bed. It is one of the most flammable gases in common industrial use. It ignites at concentrations as low as 2.5 percent in air. A small leak inside a sealed trunk overnight can build a gas pocket large enough to detonate from a single electrical spark. That spark can come from almost anywhere — a starter motor, a key fob signal, even a door lock. A documented case in British Columbia showed exactly this sequence: a service van with welding equipment leaked gas overnight and exploded when the driver used a key fob.
Massachusetts saw a nearly identical incident in Holden, where one person was seriously injured after an acetylene tank leaked in a car trunk. Investigators there noted something striking: the blast caused no significant fire damage. That matches what Totowa neighbor Sheldon Blaine described — no fire, just a concussive blast. Acetylene explosions without sustained combustion are not unusual. The gas burns fast and hot, but if the fuel supply is limited to what leaked from the tank, there may not be enough left to sustain a fire after the initial blast.
What Is Still Not Confirmed
Mayor Coiro was careful with his words. He said “preliminarily, we’re not sure if that’s what caused the explosion.” No forensic report has been released. No photos of the tank have been made public, though the mayor said the tank was visible in post-explosion images. One outlet identified the driver as a welder rather than a plumber, which creates minor confusion since both trades use acetylene, but the discrepancy has not been resolved on the record. The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office has issued no update since the day of the explosion.
ALERT: Small town in New Jersey was rocked this morning after a plumber got in his car and it exploded.
Residents in Totowa were awakened at around 5:40 AM to the sound of a car explosion.
Officials believe an acetylene tank, a highly flammable gas used for welding, was slowly… pic.twitter.com/KEOUgjnI7M
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) July 13, 2026
The absence of a final report does not mean the acetylene theory is weak. It means the investigation is following a normal timeline. The ATF ruled out a bomb. The scanner audio named acetylene within the first hour. The mayor confirmed a tank was present. No competing explanation has been offered by anyone with standing or evidence. A single social media comment suggested a fuel pump gasket failure, but that is not a theory — it is a guess. The facts on the ground point clearly in one direction, and the forensic report, when it comes, will almost certainly confirm what first responders said at the scene.
The Lesson That Keeps Getting Ignored
Tradespeople routinely transport acetylene and oxygen tanks in their vehicles. Many do it safely for years without incident. But a tank valve that is not fully closed, a hose fitting that vibrates loose on a drive home, a cylinder that tips and stresses a connection — any of these can start a slow leak. In an enclosed trunk overnight, that leak becomes a bomb. The Totowa explosion is a reminder that the danger is not hypothetical. It has happened before in Massachusetts, Florida, and British Columbia. It will happen again unless workers treat acetylene transport with the same seriousness as the gas itself demands.
Sources:
facebook.com, newjersey.news12.com, cbsnews.com, youtube.com
