1 min read
The entrance to Robbins Lumber in Searsmont. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

A formal procession from Augusta to Belfast will take place Monday for Wayne Woodbury, the 76-year-old assistant Searsmont fire chief who succumbed to injuries he suffered in a May 15 explosion at Robbins Lumber.

Later in the day, another Searsmont victim, 23-year-old Jacob Spaulding, will be released from Maine Medical Center in Portland and travel home to Montville to continue recovering from injuries he suffered.

Firefighters from several Midcoast communities, including those who responded to the massive fire and explosion at the Searsmont lumber mill last month, are expected to line Route 3 from Augusta to Belfast as Spaulding passes through.

Similarly, firefighters and other first responders will remain along the same route as Woodbury’s body is transferred to Riposta Funeral Home in Belfast.

Several others injured in the explosion remain hospitalized at either Maine Med or Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, including members of the Robbins family, which owns the lumber mill.

Andrew Cross, 27, a volunteer firefighter in neighboring Morrill, died at the scene. A week later, hundreds turned out to pay their respects.

The investigation into the explosion continues, although the cause has been ruled accidental and investigators believe it stemmed from an area near the base of a silo that exploded.

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