MORRILL, Maine — Communities in Maine honored firefighter Andrew Cross on Saturday, a day after a huge fire and explosion at a lumber mill injured at least 11 others and killed Cross, according to officials. A memorial of flowers dedicated to Cross sat outside the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department as a procession of dozens of firetrucks, police cars and other vehicles escorted his remains to a funeral home, with dozens of first responders and other community members gathering to pay their respects.

The procession traveled from Augusta to Belfast, routing through Morrill, a town with fewer than 1,000 people, a roughly 46-mile (74-kilometer) journey. State fire marshal’s office officials said the department response included roughly two dozen fire departments that battled massive flames that tore through a silo at Robbins Lumber in a rural area, and they identified Cross as the firefighter who died.

Robbins Lumber’s mill is in Searsmont, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) from Portland. The company’s website describes Robbins Lumber as a “high-tech lumber manufacturer” that has been in existence since 1881 and as family-owned for five generations. A family spokesperson, Christian Halsted, said the mill was cooperating with authorities on the investigation and would cease operations at this time.

Halsted previously described Friday as “a hugely devastating day for the family.” In Morrill, the Portland Press Herald quoted Jethro Pease, who told the newspaper that Cross joined the Morrill Volunteer Fire Department when Pease was fire chief. Pease said of Cross: “He was a good, bright young man,” adding, “He’d do anything for anybody.”

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, which has a Level 1 trauma designation, said Saturday that eight of 10 patients brought to the hospital were still being treated. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor said it was treating one patient who was in critical condition, and that patient was transferred to another facility.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Maine’s lumber and wood products industry, a long-running economic driver in the state, was highlighted by the Maine Forest Products Council, which said it contributed more than $8 billion to the state’s economy in 2024 and provides about 29,000 jobs.