SURVIVORS BATTLE
Victims of the blast are treated in hospitals all over B. C. and Alberta.
Kenny Michell has been known to finish a shift at the Burns Lake sawmill and drive the 1,000- kilometre journey to Vancouver to visit a sick friend in hospital.
Now it’s Michell who is lying critically ill in Vancouver General Hospital with severe burns to his head, neck, back and arms suffered in an explosion and fire at the mill Friday night. His six children and three grandchildren were on their way to Vancouver Monday to join Michell’s wife at his bedside.
Michell, one of three victims of the blast at Vancouver General, remained heavily sedated Monday after undergoing surgery, his sister- in- law Violet Abraham said.
“He’s still not out of it,” Abraham said. “He’s in critical condition. If he comes out of it they’re going to do plastic surgery. My sister is just crying. She wants the family there with her. It’s going to be quite a while.”
Michell, 54, was burned so badly in the fire and explosion at the Babine Forest Products sawmill that a colleague who has known him since they were teenagers said he couldn’t even recognize him.
But everyone in the small community knows who he is.
“He helps people at the drop of a hat,” said his friend Beatrice Michell, who is not related but whose husband worked with him at the mill.
“I remember him getting off work and driving to Vancouver to see someone ailing in the hospital. He would have a window of a couple of days and then come back.
“If he wasn’t in hospital right now he would be going door to door to make sure everybody was okay.”
Michell, who worked at the mill for 27 years, was one of 19 injured workers airlifted to hospitals across B. C. after the explosion, which destroyed the sawmill and left 250 people out of work.
Two men — Carl Charlie and Robert Luggi — were reported missing in the blaze. The remains of two men were found Monday but the B. C. Coroners Service has not identified the bodies.
Lloyd Abraham, a friend of Kenny Michell, described him Monday as a “very awesome, outgoing, caring guy” who doesn’t drink or smoke and has been playing fastball and hockey since he was a boy. His children also play hockey, while three of his sons sing with Abraham’s powwow drum group.
Beatrice Michell broke down in tears as she recalled Michell’s devotion to his children, especially a daughter with special needs.
“He’s 100- per- cent family,” she said, noting that he always encouraged other fathers to engage with their children. “It always amazed me the resources he’d use to accommodate his family; they were always No. 1.”
The United Steelworkers Union Local 1- 424, which represents workers at the mill, is collecting money — donations can be made at CIBC branches — to send family members to join the burn victims in Vancouver, Edmonton and Prince George, said union president Frank Everett.
Two other victims of the explosion are in serious but stable condition in Vancouver, while a fourth — Derek MacDonald — is expected to be transferred there from Prince George.
Another two injured workers are in Edmonton and one in Victoria, with the rest scattered between Prince George, Burns Lake, Victoria and Vanderhoof.
Macdonald, who suffered burns to his face, ears, hands and part of his back in the explosion, was heavily sedated Saturday but was considered to be in stable condition.
Meanwhile, counsellors have descended on the village of Burns Lake, 228 kilometres east of Prince George, to help its 3,600 residents cope with grief.
“It’s not just the physical trauma, it’s the emotional trauma that goes with it,” said Everett, whose union has also provided counsellors. “You have loss of life, life- altering experiences with injuries, loss of jobs in the community ... the healing process is going to be long- term.”
To Violet Abraham, the explosion has added consequences: Michell, Charlie and another victim, Steve Dominic, were all expected to be in her wedding party this August.
Charlie, who is one of the two missing men, is her fiancé’s cousin and was to be the best man. “He was a friendly person. As soon as he meets you he gives you a hug,” she said. “And when he teases you, you don’t know until the end when he smiles. He was an awesome friend.”
Charlie, a cut- off saw operator, was apparently working in the area where the explosion occurred, she said, along with Dominic. When the explosion hit, she said, Dominic reported hearing Charlie screaming.
“All he heard was Carl next to him letting out a scream,” Violet said, relating what she’d heard from family members. “He said, ‘ It seemed like a blow torch against my face,’ and said, “I’m not going to die like this,’ and ran out.”
Dominic is at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, where he has a swollen face but is sitting up and talking, his friends said.
Sid Neville, one of the three at VGH, also appears to be okay.
His mother Nettie said Neville, 34, who suffered burns to his upper body, particularly his back and under his arms, after his clothes caught fire, is in stable condition.
He is scheduled for surgery but no date has been set because there are others ahead of him in the queue. His face, which was also burned, won’t require surgery.
“He’s on his way to recovery. He seems to be in good spirits,” said Nettie, who is caring for Sid’s two young children while his wife Marley is in Vancouver with him. “It’ll take awhile but he’s in a good place. They say he’s being looked after very well.”
Neville is on a “lot of painkillers,” his mom said, but he keeps telling everyone he’s fine. “We just like to hear his voice.”