A giant of Maine lumber is donating $100,000 to support the victims and their families after last week’s deadly disaster at a lumber mill in Searsmont.
Hammond Lumber on Monday afternoon announced the donation to the Maine Strong Memorial Foundation, which is working with the town of Searsmont and other officials to raise funds to support those injured in Friday’s fire and explosion at the Robbins Lumber mill.
“As a Maine company, our communities are like family to us, and tragedies like this are felt deeply by all of us,” Mike Hammond, president and CEO of Hammond Lumber Co., said in a statement. “Robbins Lumber has been a valued partner of ours for many years, and from one family business to another, our hearts are with everyone impacted by this tragedy. We are keeping the victims, their families, employees, first responders, and the entire community in our thoughts. On behalf of our company and employees, we hope this donation helps provide comfort, resources, and meaningful support to the individuals and families affected as they navigate the difficult road ahead.”
A fire broke out about 10:05 a.m. Friday at the Robbins Lumber campus off Route 131 in an area where wood shavings are packed in plastic bags. That blaze then spread to a silo filled with sawdust that exploded about 11 a.m. as firefighters stood nearby.
That prompted nearly two dozen fire departments to scramble to the scene as crews tried to contain the blaze and tended to the nearly dozen wounded.
One firefighter, 27-year-old Andrew Cross of the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department, was killed. Ten people, including owners Jim Robbins and Alden Robbins and family member Lily Robbins, remain hospitalized. The Robbinses are recovering in the burn unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the company revealed Monday morning.
A joint federal-state investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire and explosion.
