After a fire caused an explosion Friday morning at the Robbins Lumber mill on Route 131, dozens of Searsmont residents gathered on Appleton Ridge Road around noon to watch as the flames at the mill continued to spread.
Searsmont resident Devin Richards was sitting on the bed of his pickup truck watching the fire, which had doubled in size in the two hours he’d been there.
His grandfather and many men of his generation worked at the mill. “Robbins Lumber is Searsmont,” he said. “Searsmont wouldn’t be Searsmont without Robbins Lumber.”
The fire at the mill is being called a mass casualty incident by emergency officials, and has drawn emergency responders from multiple surrounding towns. Ambulance and LifeFlight helicopters have come and gone from the mill site and, while officials have confirmed there have been some injuries, other details have not been released by mid-afternoon.
At the local Fraternity Village General store, about two miles north of the mill, co-owner Tammy Rector said donations have been pouring in all day long — water, snacks, drinks and ingredients for pizza. The store already had sent sandwiches and pizzas to feed firefighters at the mill, Rector said late Friday afternoon, and they were in the process of making 30 more pizzas to support firefighters through the evening.
She said someone had just come to pick up four big insulated pots of coffee and was going home to make spaghetti to take to the site. Other people were dropping off donated food at the store and the phone was ringing every few minutes with others wanting to donate to the cause.
“Seeing some of the firefighters and people who’ve worked at Robbins [Lumber] come in … it’s devastating, devastating,” Rector said. “Some of the families have come in, I mean, you don’t even know what to say to them.
“This has been the most devastating thing that has happened here for a long long time, and just to have everybody rally it makes me tear up actually,” she added.
By the side of Appleton Ridge Road, some onlookers watching the fire from afar blinked back tears watching as the fire raged.
One resident who didn’t want to be named said, “Not knowing is the worst part.”
RSU 71, the school district that serves Searsmont, Belfast, Belmont, Morrill and Swanville, sent out a notice Friday afternoon saying it would offer counseling services over the weekend at the local elementary school to anyone in the community — students or adults — who might need support. Counselors will be at the school from 10 a.m to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“Our thoughts are with all families impacted by the incident at Robbins Lumber Yard in Searsmont,” the notice said.
George Sprowl, another Searsmont resident, was taking photos of the fire with a zoom lens. He was walking his dog this morning and saw smoke. “And then suddenly the sky went back all at once,” he said.
“That must be when things let go,” he said referring to the silo that held wood shavings that exploded.
Sprowl said most people in town are connected to the mill. It is “by far” the most important employer in Searsmont, he said.
“I don’t know how many people have been hurt there, but just so many of them we probably know, you know.”
“This is a terrible catastrophe for Searsmont,” he said.