Federal officials have begun an investigation into a 40-foot fall Jan. 17 that seriously injured a contractor at the Sappi Somerset Mill at 1329 Waterville Road, also known as U.S. Route 201, in Skowhegan. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

SKOWHEGAN — Federal officials are investigating a 40-foot fall last month that seriously injured a contractor at the Sappi Somerset Mill in Skowhegan.

Staff members at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s field office in Augusta have opened an inspection regarding the Jan. 17 incident, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson confirmed Monday.

OSHA’s online database of inspections shows the agency opened two inspections Jan. 23 at 1329 Waterville Road, which is the Somerset Mill’s address. Waterville Road is a portion of U.S. Route 201.

One inspection lists its emphasis as a fall and identifies the company as Precision Industrial Contractors Inc. of Woodland, Washington. The inspection is classified as a referral.

The other inspection opened the same day lists Sappi North America as the company and is classified as a complaint. There is no emphasis listed.

Both showed the case status as “open” as of Monday.

A spokesperson for Sappi North America Inc. said in a statement the day after the incident that the contractor was “seriously injured” after falling through a roof opening, and was taken to a Portland hospital.

“Sappi will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the details of the incident,” according to the statement.

Sappi officials have not provided further information about the incident or the worker.

A representative at Precision Industrial Contractors said by telephone Monday the company had no comment and would not confirm whether the company employed the injured worker.

Details of the incident have remained largely unknown, though a 911 call transcript provides basic information about what was initially reported.

The person who reported the fall said it was from about 40 feet and onto “an operating floor” at the mill, according to the transcript. The caller said it was a “significant fall.”

Asked for more information about the person who fell, such as the person’s gender and age, the caller said no information about the patient was known at that point. The call ended shortly afterward.

Some information, such as the caller’s name, is redacted in the transcript, which the Somerset County Communications Center prepared and released. Transcripts of 911 calls are generally considered public information in Maine, while the audio recordings of calls are considered confidential.

Sappi North America, a Boston-headquartered subsidiary of an international company, employs about 2,100 people at its four mills, technology center, service center and sheeting facilities in the United States and Quebec, according to its website. In addition to the Somerset Mill, Sappi operates mills in Westbrook; Cloquet, Minnesota; and Matane, Quebec.

Sappi is investing $418 million in its Skowhegan mill, including the conversion of its No. 2 paper machine, to make a packaging product and increase production capacity. The company said in a social media post earlier this year that the new machine is expected to come online in April.

Precision Industrial Contractors has completed more than 6,000 projects across North America since 1989, according to its website. The work has been in several industries, including pulp and paper.