Firefighters from 11 departments fought a silo fire and subsequent dust explosion for almost 12 hours October 13. Two firefighter were treated for minor injuries in the incident at a wood waste silo at the Pompanoosuc Mills furniture workshop in East Thetford, Vermont.

The business manufactures furniture for showrooms in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Chief Chad Whitcomb of the Thetford Volunteer Fire Department said that on October 13, 2025, at approximately 6:40 a.m., the agency was dispatched to the location following a report of smoke emanating from the base of the wood waste silo. While en route, a caller on the scene reported seeing flames, and Chief Whitcomb elevated the incident to a first alarm, which brought out an additional unit from the Hanover New Hampshire Fire Department. At 10:18 a.m., during ongoing suppression activities, a dust explosion occurred, and firefighters and other emergency personnel from surrounding areas were dispatched to the scene.

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries as a result of the explosion; both were transported by ambulance to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where they received treatment and were subsequently released. Despite the duration of the fire and the dust explosion, the nearby showroom continued to operate.

The company uses the silo to store sawdust and small pieces of wood that feed the facility’s boiler, Whitcomb said.

Nick Porcello, showroom manager at Pompanoosuc Mills, told the Valley News that this was the second such incident at the location.  There was a similar silo fire at Pompanoosuc Mills in June 2009, the newspaper reported.

“Whenever you have sawdust, pressure, and a little bit of moisture, you have decomposition happening, and it can get hot enough to light,” Porcello told the Valley News.