EVERETT, Mass. -- For many of the dozens of residents sleeping peacefully in their Main Street triple-decker apartments Wednesday morning, dawn brought no relief.

Evacuated from their homes after a gasoline tanker truck carrying 9,400 gallons of fuel rolled over and exploded about 1:45 a.m., they learned their homes were obliterated in the ensuing river of fire that consumed two buildings and incinerated 40 cars.

By midday Wednesday, many taking shelter at the nearby armory building had not been back to sleep and they had no homes to which they could return.

"I jumped out of bed, I come running out. It looked like 'Apocalypse Now.' I couldn't believe it," one man said.

"The flames, they were just unbelievable. They were everywhere. Everywhere," another woman said.

One man said all he has left in the world is his wallet.

"I lost the whole thing. The building is completely ruined," another evacuee said.

All 84 residents of the high-rise senior housing complex nearby made it out safely. They were told they would eventually be able to return to their apartments, which were not damaged in the blast.

While their belongings weren't hurt, they suffered quite a scare as many in wheelchairs and walkers tried to swiftly leave the area with the help of emergency workers.

"We were in flames. We couldn't even get out of the building. There were flames all around us," one senior resident said. "Our cars, parking lot, everything a ball of fire."

"I looked out my window. I seen about five cars on fire, bright orange. And then the alarms went off in the building and everybody just cleared out of the building," complex resident Dan Savage said.

Two young men who evacuated one of the triple-deckers said it sounded like a war zone.

"Cars blowing up. That's all we hearing, was boom, boom, boom," one said.

"You could see the trail of gasoline and the flame following it to the first house that burned down and then a car exploded, which erupted more flames which ignited our house," the other said.

Everett Mayor John Hanlon said the residents will likely need some assistance from the community, but it was too early to determine exact totals on what they have lost.

Relief funds have been established to help residents affected by the Everett explosion.

One has been set up as the Main Street Fire Relief Fund, c/o Eagle Bank, 466 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149.

The other has been set up by the American Red Cross at 800-564-1234. Contributors are asked to earmark money for the Everett Explosion.