One Firefighter Dead, at Least 11 Injured After Massive Explosion at Maine Lumber Mill | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

One firefighter is dead, and at least 11 other firefighters and civilians are injured and in critical condition after a lumber mill explosion at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, Maine, on Friday.

It is unclear what caused the blast.

The explosion occurred as crews were working to extinguish a burning silo.

No employees were injured.

One firefighter was transported to a hospital with severe burns.

It may take several days to put out the blaze.

NBC News reported:

A large fire and explosion at a lumber mill in Maine’s midcoast region injured at least 11 people Friday.

Flames tore through Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, a town of about 1,500 people about 95 miles from Portland, authorities said.

“There’s been a huge explosion. The silo just exploded. Multiple firefighters injured,” a first responder said, according to scanner traffic from Kennebec, Somerset and Waldo County fire departments recorded by Broadcastify.com.

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, which has a Level 1 trauma designation, was waiting for 10 patients who had been treated at local hospitals to be transferred, a spokesperson said. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center was treating one patient who was in critical condition, a spokesperson for the Bangor hospital said.

Authorities said they are investigating the cause of the blast. They said they expect it to be a long and time-consuming investigation into what caused the silo explosion.