As she prepared to come home from Massachusetts General Hospital after five and a half months there, Lily Robbins asked if she could drive the ambulance herself. Her supervisor at Searsmont EMS, where Robbins is a volunteer, laughed.
“I told her it was too soon!” recalled Amy Drinkwater, the interim EMS chief.
Robbins and several others were seriously injured in a fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber mill on May 15. They were all either first responders or members of the Robbins family, and Lily Robbins is both. Three people have died, including Lily’s father, Alden Robbins.
On Friday, though, Drinkwater’s recollection reflected the celebratory mood: Lily Robbins was finally coming home to Searsmont. Drinkwater, who has visited her at the hospital recently, said Robbins has been eager to get back and to do medical work again.
She left Mass General on Friday midday. A caravan of seven trucks from the Searsmont Fire station went to pick her up, joined along the way by first responder vehicles from dozens of agencies, including many that had been in Searsmont on May 15.
Arriving back on Friday for a reception, trucks rang their bells and honked horns, and a crowd of locals, friends and extended family members cheered and waved.
Robbins walked slowly into the fire station, greeting people. One hand was wrapped in a bandage; burn marks showed on the other and on her face. Robbins looked at the little kids holding up “welcome home” signs.
“Thank you all so much,” she said. Later, she added thanks for everyone who has sent cards, letters or gifts.
“I’ve read every single word of every single card I got, and it made me smile,” she said.
She went into a deep embrace with three of her closest friends from college who are all paramedics — Taylor Church, Blake Tripp and Lila Bell. With tears streaming down their faces, they said it doesn’t feel real to have Robbins home at last.
Church said she’s been texting nonstop with Robbins, and they already have plans to get together at Church’s house.
The day was meant to feel like a big hug for Robbins and her family, said Jodi Staples, a fellow EMS volunteer who was driving one of the ambulances in the procession on Friday. Supporters started bringing homemade cookies and signs to the fire station earlier in the morning. Deb Pickering came from Belfast wearing a Searsmont Strong T-shirt.
“We want to let her know we’ve been thinking about her all this time,” Pickering said.
Members of the Robbins extended family came with signs, too.
“We have prayed so hard for her,” Lily’s great aunt Suzanne Philbrook said with tears in her eyes. “We’re so grateful God spared her life.”
On May 15, a silo full of wood shavings at Robbins Lumber caught fire, exploded and rocketed off the ground about an hour after the initial fire. Dozens of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel had arrived at the mill. Morrill volunteer firefighter Andrew Cross died the same day, and Searsmont Assistant Fire Chief Wayne Woodbury died in June, shortly before Alden Robbins.
Other people injured in the explosion were on hand Friday to help welcome Lily Robbins home, including Thomas Wolf, a Searsmont Fire volunteer and an employee of Robbins Lumber. He walked into the fire station on Friday morning to take his place in the procession.
“Hospitals are great but there’s nothing more satisfying than being at home,” he said. “I can’t wait for Lily to get home and be in that environment.”
Wolf’s most severe injuries were to his head; he also has visible scarring from burns on his hands, though he said he can now hold a pencil to write. He has returned to work at Robbins and intends to volunteer with the fire service again.
The explosion has motivated more people in town to volunteer, as well. Searsmont Selectman Chris Staples said he thinks eight people have joined the fire and EMS, doubling the roster.
He decided to volunteer himself and plans to take his fire truck driving test on Sunday.
Robbins’ homecoming reception is healing for the town, said Clerk Angela Cilley. When Cilley posted about it on Facebook hundreds of people cheered the news and Lily Robbins responded, saying, “I’m so grateful for this community.”
“It’s something joyful for the town after so much uncertainty and loss,” Cilley said on Friday. “I think people want to see her face to make sure it’s real.”
The family founded Robbins Lumber in 1881 and still operates it, which is a point of pride in the community. The town and the company are closely intertwined. Searsmont is raising relief funds by selling stickers, hats and shirts with an image of Robbins Lumber alongside fire department and EMS logos. Kids from the area often take field trips and tours of the lumberyard.
Lily Robbins, 23, graduated from the University of Maine a week before the explosion and plans to apply to medical school, her great aunt Jane Newcomb said Friday.
The Midcoast Villager reported Robbins needed several blood transfusions during her treatment at Mass General. A GoFundMe organized by the restaurant where she worked in Camden to support her recovery has raised more than $81,000.
Investigations into the fire and explosion are ongoing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a mid-November deadline to release its findings. In August, a separate agency, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, called for better labeling and identification of hazards at silos and more training to deal with them.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Rachel Estabrook can be reached at restabrook@metln.org.