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A ample occurrence and detonation Friday astatine a lumber mill successful Maine injured astatine slightest 10 people, officials said. The blaze was inactive progressive arsenic of precocious Friday afternoon.
Firefighters responded to a occurrence and detonation astatine 10 a.m. astatine Robbins Lumber successful Searsmont, Maine, astir 95 miles from Portland, Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the authorities Department of Public Safety, said during a quality conference.
Sauschuck said helium could not supply the nonstop fig of radical injured, "or wherever they were moving oregon who they were moving for."
A photograph from the Thorndike Fire Department shows the occurrence astatine the Robbins Lumber mill successful Maine.
Thorndike Fire Department
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center successful Portland, which has a Level 1 trauma designation, said it was anticipating 10 patients to its exigency department.
The Thorndike Fire Department said successful a social media post that aggregate firefighters and civilians were injured. The section besides said aggregate occurrence trucks were mislaid to fire.
Officials said they bash not cognize the origin of the occurrence astatine this time.
This representation made from video provided by Tiffany Mannarini shows a plume of fume from a ample occurrence astatine Robbins Lumber successful Searsmont, Maine, Friday, May 15, 2026.
Tiffany Mannarini via AP
Catherine Robbins-Halsted, an proprietor astatine Robbins Lumber, said Friday that each of the company's employees were accounted for.
Robbins Lumber, a family-owned business, opened successful 1881 and present manages 30,000 acres of its ain forests, according to the company. In 1957, the mill "burned to the ground" aft a fire, but was rebuilt and added a caller sawmill.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins said successful a societal media station that "the Robbins household is beloved successful the Searsmont community, and Robbins Lumber is simply a portion of Maine history."
"I person known the household for galore years," Collins said successful the post. "My bosom goes retired to them, their employees, and the archetypal responders who person travel from each implicit the portion to assistance successful the exigency response. This is simply a precise bittersweet crisis, and each those affected are successful my prayers."
Maine Gov. Janet Mills said successful a societal media station that she was briefed connected the occurrence successful Searsmont and urged civilians to enactment wide of the area.
"I inquire Maine radical to articulation maine successful keeping each those affected successful their thoughts," she said.
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