The Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) has concluded its investigation of workplace fatalities and serious physical injuries that occurred during the May 15, 2026, Robbins Lumber sawmill fire in Searsmont. The Bureau of Labor Standards (BLS) Workplace Safety and Health Division manages the Maine Occupational Safety and Health (MEOSH) program which investigates workplace safety and health incidents involving public employers, including local government agencies.

MEOSH conducted investigations of the Searsmont, Morrill, Montville, Belmont, Appleton, and Lincolnville fire departments and the Searsmont Rescue Department to investigate compliance with state and federal workplace safety and health standards. After a thorough review of the events of May 15 and each department's overall safety and health compliance, MEOSH notified department leaders of its findings.

"We are responsible for ensuring that people working for state, county, and municipal governments and other public employers have safe workplaces," said Bureau Director Kate Burkhart, in a MDOL news release. "We do that best when we balance enforcement with supporting public employers as they address violations to improve safety, mitigate hazards and reduce the risk of future harm to employees."

MEOSH issued citations related to the lack of an effective accountability system for tracking the location of firefighters on scene on May 15 to all six fire departments. As a result of the lessons learned that day, all of the fire departments have augmented their accountability systems. Most of the departments, along with others in Knox County, are in the process of implementing a single accountability system that will improve safety for all the departments' firefighters, especially when responding to a fire in mutual aid communities.

To support the departments' efforts to improve internal operations as well as coordination and incident command of major mutual aid emergencies, the Bureau is coordinating with the Maine Fire Chiefs' Association and Maine Fire Service Institute to provide training for these departments' chiefs and officers in Belmont in February.

MEOSH also issued citations to five departments related to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including firefighting gear and breathing apparatus, to keep personnel safe from the hazards of a fire scene. All five departments resolved the immediate deficiencies and have committed to attending Respiratory Protection Program training delivered by SafetyWorks! in Waldo County in January. The Bureau is partnering with the Searsmont Rescue Department to develop and deliver training on PPE standards and compliance for rescue department managers.

All the departments and local governments made significant efforts to resolve the citations and to further improve workplace safety for firefighters and emergency responders, according to MDOL.

"These efforts require time, energy and resources from local elected officials, fire and rescue department leadership, and the paid and volunteer firefighters and EMTs," said Burkhart. “We suspended nearly all of the $108,000 in civil penalties in consideration of the remediation efforts and so that the towns could prioritize their limited resources to support safety improvements for their emergency responders moving forward."

"Town staff and the fire department immediately started correcting all issues that the DOL identified. The DOL was adamant about helping Morrill correct these citations so penalties could be suspended," said Randy Place, first selectman, Town of Morrill. "Morrill greatly appreciated how the DOL handled our case, providing help and understanding while the town struggled with the loss of our young firefighter."

The Department has discretion to suspend or reduce civil penalties in some situations when a public employer corrects the workplace safety and health citations.

Read the final agency actions and remediation agreements for each public employer investigated.