A maintenance worker credited with saving lives by evacuating a Farmington building that later exploded is coming home to Maine after spending more than seven months in Boston hospitals.Larry Lord is being released from the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston on Friday, his family says in a statement released Wednesday.
“We are so happy and grateful to be able to bring Larry home to continue his healing,” his wife Sandy Lord says. “While the doctors told us that Larry still faces a long and difficult road, we are thrilled that he will be home, with us, so we can support him every step of the way.”
Lord evacuated the offices of the non-profit LEAP in Farmington on the morning of Sept 16, 2019 after he smelled gas. The building later exploded when Lord and firefighters entered it to investigate the source of the smell.
The massive explosion killed Farmington fire Capt. Michael Bell and injured six other firefighters, as well as Lord.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Farmington native, says in a statement that Lord’s return home is “great news” for the town and the state of Maine.
“On behalf of the people of Maine, it is my honor to say to Larry Lord: welcome home. Your heroism on that tragic day, as well as your perseverance every day since, is a reminder during this difficult time that, with courage and kindness like yours, we can and will overcome.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
