More Than 100 Responders Honor Fallen Firefighter After Searsmont Mill Explosion Injures at Least 10
Updated
Updated · Press Herald · May 15
More Than 100 Responders Honor Fallen Firefighter After Searsmont Mill Explosion Injures at Least 10
8 articles · Updated · Press Herald · May 15
More than 100 first responders lined a driveway in Augusta as the remains of an unidentified firefighter killed in the Searsmont lumber mill blast were taken to the medical examiner.
At least 10 injured people — firefighters and civilians — were transferred toward Maine Medical Center after a silo explosion and fire at Robbins Lumber, with officials reporting significant burns and some third-degree injuries.
The fire, first reported around 10:05 a.m., drew a massive mutual-aid response from across Maine as multiple fire trucks burned and crews battled repeated explosions and a smoke plume visible for miles.
Investigators from the state fire marshal, Maine State Police, OSHA and ATF joined the response, while the chief medical examiner prepared an autopsy to confirm the firefighter’s identity.
Robbins Lumber, one of the country’s largest white pine mills with about 225 employees, is central to the Midcoast Maine community and had a smaller 2024 fire with no injuries.
After a history of fires and safety fines, was the deadly Maine mill explosion an accident or a predictable disaster?
What made the silo's wood dust so explosive that it killed a firefighter and overwhelmed the emergency response?