A fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber Mill on May 15 injured at least 11 people and killed a firefighter in Searsmont, Maine. The lumber mill has a history of labor violations, and the latest casualties come amid federal deregulation of the timber industry.
The explosion occurred as firefighters were attempting to put out a fire at one of the lumber mill’s silos according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. Federal and state authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion.
The Maine State Fire Marshal’s office identified the firefighter killed by the mill explosion as Andrew Cross, 27 years old. He died at the scene.
At least one person remains in critical condition. The company told monopoly media that no mill workers are among the injured.
The incident marks the third fire at Robbins Lumber Mill in a decade. In 2019, a fire started in an ash building when a pile of hot ash was piled too high. There were two fires in 2024: one in March, when a fire began inside a wall at the mill, and a second in November, when a control room for an on-site kiln caught fire.
In 2025, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined the company more than $10,000 for failing to follow preventative safety protocols connected to the containment of hazardous energy.
The latest explosion follows reductions in federal oversight of the timber industry through two executive orders by the Trump administration in 2025. The first order, titled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” claims that unnecessary federal regulations made the US reliant on foreign timber production and therefore must be reduced. A second order, “Addressing the Threat to National Security from Imports of Timber, Lumber” frames timber imports as a threat to US imperialism.
Both executive orders prioritize the speed and output of timber production over workplace and environmental regulations, placing workers and residents at greater risk so that monopolists can reap larger profits.
Workers in the lumber industry in Maine produce over $8 billion annually for monopolists across roughly 29,000 jobs, according to the Maine Forest Products Council.
Image: Fire at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, Maine, on May 15, 2026. Credit: Maine Department of Public Safety.
The Worker is an entirely volunteer-run revolutionary newspaper free from and radically antagonistic to corporate influence. We rely on the support of our readers to sustain our editorial line in service of the working class and the reconstitution of its party, the Communist Party. Make a one-time or recurring donation to our newspaper today:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
