One firefighter is dead, and at least 11 other firefighters and civilians are injured and in critical condition after a lumber mill explosion at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, Maine, on Friday.
It is unclear what caused the blast.
The explosion occurred as crews were working to extinguish a burning silo.
No employees were injured.
One firefighter was transported to a hospital with severe burns.
It may take several days to put out the blaze.
NBC News reported:
A large fire and explosion at a lumber mill in Maine’s midcoast region injured at least 11 people Friday.
Flames tore through Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, a town of about 1,500 people about 95 miles from Portland, authorities said.
“There’s been a huge explosion. The silo just exploded. Multiple firefighters injured,” a first responder said, according to scanner traffic from Kennebec, Somerset and Waldo County fire departments recorded by Broadcastify.com.
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, which has a Level 1 trauma designation, was waiting for 10 patients who had been treated at local hospitals to be transferred, a spokesperson said. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center was treating one patient who was in critical condition, a spokesperson for the Bangor hospital said.
Authorities said they are investigating the cause of the blast. They said they expect it to be a long and time-consuming investigation into what caused the silo explosion.
More on this story from CBS:
BREAKING: At least 11 people were injured in an explosion at a historic lumber mill in Searsmont, Maine. The cause of the blast is under investigation. pic.twitter.com/6p8a0mnc6b
— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) May 15, 2026
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.
