SEARSMONT, Maine — Maine workplace safety regulators cited six fire departments for lacking an effective system to track where firefighters were during the May 15 fire at the Robbins Lumber sawmill in Searsmont, in which workers were killed and seriously injured, the Maine Department of Labor said Tuesday.

The department's Maine Occupational Safety and Health program, which oversees safety for public employers including local governments, investigated the Searsmont, Morrill, Montville, Belmont, Appleton and Lincolnville fire departments and the Searsmont Rescue Department after the fire. The department said it reviewed both the events of May 15 and each department's overall compliance with state and federal safety standards.

All six fire departments have since strengthened their systems for keeping track of firefighters at a scene, the department said. Most of them, along with other departments in Knox County, are moving to a single shared system intended to improve safety when crews help neighboring towns fight fires.

Five of the departments were also cited over the use of protective equipment, including firefighting gear and breathing gear. The department said all five fixed the immediate problems and have agreed to attend respiratory protection training in Waldo County in January. State officials are also working with fire service groups to train the departments' chiefs and officers in Belmont in February.

"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," said Kate Burkhart, director of the department's Bureau of Labor Standards.

Randy Place, first selectman of Morrill, said town staff and the fire department began correcting the problems right away. "Morrill greatly appreciated how the DOL handled our case, providing help and understanding while the town struggled with the loss of our young firefighter," Place said.

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