The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office has identified a Lincoln man killed Wednesday evening while mixing up explosives in his basement. 

Tracy Fox/Thinkstock
Tracy Fox/Thinkstock
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Officials say 67-year-old Robert Stuart was killed instantly around 7:00 p.m. at his home on the Stanhope Mill Road in Lincoln.

The State Police bomb team found five IEDs in the basement and detonated them in Stuart’s back yard, along with other bomb-making material.

Investigators say Stuart’s wife, Sarah, was home at the time of the explosion and called 9-1-1. She said that her husband told her he had been making the devices to blow up tree stumps.

An autopsy on Stuart will take place at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta.

Investigators say they have called the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to assist in the investigation by tracking down where and when Mr. Stuart purchased the bomb-making materials.

The Lincoln police and fire departments also responded. There was little damage to the rest of the house and no one else was injured in the blast. Nearby residents who were evacuated were allowed to return to their homes and investigators cleared the scene about 2:30 Thursday morning.

 

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