Saturday marks 4-year anniversary of deadly Farmington explosion

FARMINGTON, Maine (WABI) - Saturday marks the four-year anniversary of the deadly explosion in Farmington.

The explosion at the Leap, Inc. building killed Farmington Fire Capt. Michael Bell.

Six other firefighters were injured, and building maintenance manager Larry Lord was critically injured. He spent months in a Boston hospital and later a rehabilitation facility.

The Fire Marshal’s Office said a ruptured gas line caused the leak that led to the explosion. The line was damaged during the digging of a bollard in the building’s parking lot, investigators said.

In response to the explosion, lawmakers updated Maine’s Dig Safe law to include liquefied propane gas lines. That law took effect in 2022.

September 16, 2019 - It is hard to believe it has been four years since the incident that changed our department and our...
Posted by Farmington Fire Rescue on Friday, September 15, 2023