EVERETT, Mass. — Jolted from bed by a thunderous explosion, John Malone grabbed his pants and looked out the window to see a flaming river of fuel flowing toward his apartment from an overturned tanker truck.

“I just grabbed my girlfriend and her aunt and ran,” the 28-year-old machinist said.

Mr. Malone was not hurt, and safety officials were surprised and grateful that no one else was either after the accident early yesterday that spilled 9,400 gallons of burning fuel into a sleeping community.

Witnesses said a 10-foot wall of flame flowed through the neighborhood below a rotary where the tanker flipped, blowing up cars and destroying two triple-deckers, including Mr. Malone’s.

Nearby residents were hastily evacuated, including about 84 residents of a senior-citizen complex and 10 to 12 families who lost their homes in the fire.

Firefighters initially were hampered by frozen hydrants and icy conditions, but they were able to contain the fire in this closely packed Boston suburb.

“We’re alive,” Mr. Malone said. “The other stuff you can get back.” Hours after the explosion, the fire burned in spots. The smell of fuel and burning wood mixed as firefighters poured water on one of the ruined three-story homes, about 100 yards from where the tanker flipped. Two light poles that partially melted and collapsed during the explosion lay across the road near a line of burned-out cars, all encased in ice.

State police said the driver of the tanker, Chad LaFrance, 30, of Dover, N.H., was going too fast when the tanker flipped and hit a guardrail around 1:40 a.m. He was cited for speeding and for not carrying a medical certificate that verifies his health.

Mr. LaFrance, who was uninjured, worked for Abenaqui Carriers, Inc. of North Hampton, N.H., state police said. Several messages left at the company were not returned yesterday.