The volunteer firefighter killed in the line of duty during Friday’s explosion and mass-casualty fire at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont has been identified as 27-year-old Andrew Cross of the Morrill Fire Department.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner officially identified Cross on Saturday morning.

Cross joined the Morrill department three years ago, according to Chief Dean Rowlands. He worked as a machinist at Bath Iron Works, ran a landscaping business, and plowed roads for the small town of about 1,000 people, Rowlands said.

State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler expressed grief on behalf of the state’s public safety agencies.

“Our deepest sympathies, thoughts, and prayers are with the firefighter’s family, loved ones, and colleagues during this devastating time,” Esler said in a statement.

A procession was scheduled to escort Cross home to Waldo County Saturday morning, traveling from the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta and past the Morrill fire station to the Risposta Funeral Home in Belfast. Local fire departments lined the roads along the way to pay their respects.

Bunches of flowers and empty bunker gear sat outside the Morrill fire hall and dozens of cars lined the shoulders of the village roads late Saturday morning. About 60 neighbors, firefighters, and Robbins Lumber employees turned out.

Morrill firefighter David White saluted his colleague as the procession passed just after noon.

The identification of Cross, one of several people hurt in the incident, comes as the investigation into the explosion continues.

The Searsmont Fire Department responded to an initial structure fire at the mill just after 10 a.m. An hour later, after employees had evacuated and firefighters were trying to put out the fire, the silo exploded. The concussion was heard miles away, sending a big plume of black smoke 4,000 feet into the air that eventually stretched for 20 miles.

This story will be updated.