The man who died Friday in an explosion at a Rockport metal fabrication workshop had been serving a prison sentence at the minimum security Bolduc Correctional Facility in Warren.
Sean Rancourt, 39, previously of Waterville, had been a resident of the state correctional system since a 2018 conviction for aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, according to Samuel Prawer, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Corrections.
Rancourt’s earliest possible release date was this coming September. He’d been employed by Rockport Steel as part of a work release program, Prawer said on Saturday.
Police say that Rancourt was welding on a diesel fuel tank just before 3 p.m. on Friday when it exploded, killing him. His body has been taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for an autopsy.
Rockport Steel does custom metal fabrication for structural work, sculpture and other purposes, according to its website.