WINDHAM – A Westbrook man was arrested after authorities say he violated numerous hazardous materials regulations and caused a gas scare on Windham’s River Road Monday. The busy commuter artery was closed for more than five hours as a result.

According to Windham police, Joshua Prokey, 30, of 73 Everett St., was arrested on a charge of theft by receiving for stealing a propane tank. The tank was modified to power a van Prokey used to haul a 24-foot flat-bed trailer loaded with about a dozen 325-pound propane tanks, some of which were tack-welded together.

According to authorities, Prokey was building a pontoon boat and using the tanks as flotation. He was transporting them to a friend’s home in Windham when one of the tanks fell off the rig, prompting a 911 call by a motorist who was following Prokey’s vehicle from behind.

Maine State Police have also charged the Westbrook man with additional violations for transporting propane tanks without proper licenses. According to Trooper Charles Granger, who on scene as a member of the commercial vehicle enforcement unit, Prokey is also charged with not having a hazardous materials license and not displaying hazardous material placards on his vehicle.

Prokey is also charged with unauthorized packaging, a charge that stems from Prokey’s removal of identifying serial numbers and labeling from the tanks. He is also charged with failure to meet U.S. Department of Transportation requirements of hazardous materials compliance, as well as improper load securement. Each of the class E crimes carries with it a minimum mandatory $250 fine.

Concerning the charge of unauthorized packaging, Granger said, police have not yet proven but are investigating the removal of identifying information on the tanks, which would likely mean they were stolen, as was the tank powering the van, which had blackened windows.

“He basically stripped these tanks so no one can identify them and we can’t track them,” said Granger, who was on scene for more than five hours.

The 14 tanks, some of which still contained propane, were confiscated Monday and taken to a Shaw Bros. gravel pit on Route 237 in Gorham. According to pit owner Dan Shaw, the tanks were removed later in the afternoon by Downeast Energy. Five of the 14 tanks had propane product in them, Granger said.

“We don’t know how much, but some did contain product,” he said.

Prokey posted $250 cash bail on Monday, according to Cumberland County Jail officials. Efforts to contact him were unsuccessful by deadline.

The propane scare put local police and fire officials at high alert Monday. According to Windham’s Deputy Fire/EMS Chief John Wescott, a 500-foot perimeter was imposed surrounding the vehicle near River Road’s intersection with Al Weber Road. Traffic was diverted onto Anderson Road from the south and Depot Road and Chute Road to the north.

The call was originally reported to police at 9:40 a.m. Monday by a motorist who was following Prokey as he drove north on River Road. According to Granger, the motorist called 911 when he saw one of the tanks fall off the rear of the trailer. Granger said Prokey saw the tank fall off, as well, and stopped his rig about 200 yards up the road in an attempt to retrieve the tank, which weighs 325 pounds empty, to hoist it back into the trailer. Before he could figure out a way to hoist the tank and drive off, Windham responders arrived and detained Prokey and the vehicle.

Granger, who said first responders quickly moved to close down the scene due to propane fumes, said Prokey was “very cooperative” during police interviews.

Joshua Prokey of Westbrook was hauling 14 propane tanks into Windham on River Road Monday morning when one of the tanks fell off. The road was subsequently closed down for more than five hours as emergency responders closed off the area on account of the hazardous materials.