PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The fire and subsequent explosion at a Maine lumber mill that killed a firefighter and injured a dozen other people was accidental and originated at the base of a silo, authorities said Tuesday.The May 15 fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont killed Andrew Cross, 27, of the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department. The injured people include members of the family that runs the lumber mill and other emergency responders. The fire sent plumes of black smoke into the sky and required hundreds of firefighters from dozens of departments to suppress it.Rapid ignition of particulate material resulted in an explosion in the silo that caused it to lift from its concrete base and release large amounts of sawdust and other materials, the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement Tuesday. The silo then toppled and the surrounding area became engulfed in fire, the office said.
Investigators will return to the facility in the coming months to conduct a more detailed examination, the fire marshal’s office said.“Investigators also determined the facility’s fire suppression system, which was located near the top of the silo, did not activate because temperatures at that elevation did not reach the activation threshold after the fire originated at the base of the silo,” the office’s statement said.
