By Mike Grimala
masslive.com
A Maine firefighter who died in an explosion at a lumber mill was remembered in his obituary as someone who was “always ready to give a helping hand to others.”
Andrew Cross, a 27-year-old Morrill resident, was killed May 15 while battling a fire at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont. As a volunteer member of the Morrill Fire Department, Cross was on the scene helping to put out a silo fire when an explosion occurred.
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Cross grew up in Morrill and played baseball and soccer at Belfast Area High School, according to his obituary. He worked as a machinist at Bath Iron Works and owned his own landscaping business.
An avid outdoorsman, Cross loved to snowmobile in northern Maine and also enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Cross was good with machinery and was happy to apply that skill in service of others.
“He was always ready to give a helping hand to others, and he had a smile that instantly endeared him to everyone he met,” his obituary reads. “There wasn’t an engine or motorized piece of equipment that Andrew and his father couldn’t get to work one way or another.”
Cross is survived by his parents, Donald and Laurie, his sisters, Whitney and Lindsey, and his grandmother, Beverly Young. He also leaves behind several aunts and uncles and extended family.
“Andrew’s spirit will forever be with us when we see a big buck, chase a fast rabbit, hear the soft tread of a bear, sneak up on a gobbling turkey, wet a line with a new lure, and hear the rumble of an old tractor or dump truck,” his obituary reads. “Rest easy, cherished son, brother, nephew, cousin, friend, and hero.”
A public visitation will be held Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Riposta Funeral Home in Belfast. Shuttle service will be provided from Belfast Area High School for the general public, and the first responders’ shuttle will be from Troy Howard Middle School.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Veracity Chapel in Morrill.
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