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Investigators on Tuesday released more details about the fire and explosion at a Searsmont lumber mill 11 days ago that killed one firefighter and hospitalized a dozen other first responders and mill employees.
The fire at the Robbins Lumber complex is believed to have started in the area of the unloader mechanism at the base of a silo that held sawdust, the Maine fire marshal’s office said on Tuesday.
“Before fire suppression operations could fully contain the smoldering fire, a rapid ignition of suspended particulate material resulted in an explosion within the silo,” the fire marshal’s office said.
The explosion lifted the silo off its concrete base, releasing large amounts of sawdust and other particulate material. The silo then fell over, “at which point the surrounding area became rapidly engulfed in fire” that quickly spread to adjacent buildings in the mill complex, the fire marshal’s office said.
Investigators found that the mill’s fire suppression system, located near the top of the silo, didn’t activate during the initial fire because the temperature at that height wasn’t high enough to set it off.
Investigators are planning to return to the mill in the coming months for a more detailed examination of the unloader systems, “which may include additional testing in coordination with insurance representatives and additional technical experts to further identify a cause,” the fire marshal’s office said.
