Overview
- Searsmont Assistant Fire Chief Wayne Woodbury, 76, died Sunday at Maine Medical Center from injuries sustained responding to the Robbins Lumber blaze, raising the confirmed firefighter death toll to two.
- The explosion and fire began at the Robbins Lumber complex on May 15 when a silo fire led to a blast that lifted and toppled the silo and spread sawdust and flames to nearby buildings.
- State and ATF investigators have preliminarily concluded the blast was accidental and likely started at the silo’s unloader when suspended particulate material rapidly ignited, and the technical probe remains active.
- Twelve people were injured in the incident, including six other firefighters, two Searsmont EMS members, two Robbins Lumber co-owners and a mill worker, and several victims were treated in Portland and Boston hospitals.
- The blast damaged equipment, paused mill operations and has strained regional volunteer response capacity while investigators sift debris, map the site and examine why the facility’s suppression system did not activate at the silo’s elevation.