No charges laid in fatal mill fi re
Crown points fi nger at questionable WorkSafeBC investigation in Burns Lake.
Nearly two years after an explosion killed two workers at a Burns Lake sawmill, the Crown has said there will be no charges, citing a questionable investigation by the province’s worker safety agency.
WorkSafeBC’s investigation into the fatal Jan. 20, 2012 fire at the Babine Forest Products mill left significant evidence inadmissible in court, the province’s criminal justice branch said Friday.
“Based on the evidence that would likely be available for presentation by Crown counsel in court, the branch has concluded that there is no substantial likelihood of conviction for any of the regulatory offences recommended by WorkSafeBC,’’ the Crown statement said.
No charges will be laid under provincial workers’ compensation or occupational health and safety legislation, which could have carried administrative penalties of jail time of up to six months for individuals, as well as fines. An earlier RCMP investigation ruled out criminal charges.
A series of blasts and an ensuing fire at the mill killed Robert Luggi, 45, and 42- year- old Carl Charlie. Twenty other employees were injured and the mill was destroyed.
Attorney General Suzanne Anton said in a statement that she was confident that the Crown had “conducted a thorough and careful review of this matter” and that no special prosecutor would be appointed to reconsider charges against the mill.
WorkSafeBC will release its investigative report some time next week and has said it has not ruled out fining Babine over the deadly explosion.
The main concerns raised by the Crown include the failure of WorkSafeBC to obtain search warrants or inform witnesses — like the owner of the mill’s Oregon- based parent company — of their Charter rights before taking statements.
“In this particular case the Crown concluded that ... what had begun as an inspection had evolved into an investigation, and that has different evidentiary requirements,” Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said. “Clearly determining whether or when an inspection has become an investigation can be a legally complex issue, but the law’s been clear for a number of years that regulatory investigators have more restricted powers than those that are enjoyed by safety inspectors, who have a different mandate.”
The Crown is “certainly available” to discuss issues with agencies like WorkSafeBC during the course of an investigation, but was not contacted until months after the explosion when WorkSafeBC signalled its intent to request charges, MacKenzie said.
With evidence that would have been admissible, there was “a sufficient factual underpinning’’ for a number of provincial violations, the branch said, but the Crown felt the company had a viable defence of due diligence.
On Friday, Crown lawyers met with workers and family members of the men who died in Burns Lake to advise them of the decision. Trieu Nguyen, who works at the mill, said the meeting was “intense.’’
“A lot of people were crying, lots of people mad,’’ said Nguyen, whose brother was badly injured in the fire and no longer works at the rebuilt sawmill.
Jeff Dolan, director of investigations for WorkSafeBC, was not available for an interview but posted a statement on the agency’s website.
“Our officers attended the Babine site within hours of the explosion and fire and remained at the site for 13 weeks, conducting one of, if not the largest, scene examination in the history of WorkSafeBC and the province,’’ Dolan said.
Dolan defended the record of the “evolving investigative methodology” employed by his organization for “at least the past decade.” He also noted that the 2011 conviction of the owners of a Langley mushroom farm were fined more than $ 350,000 under the Workers’ Compensation Act charges after three employees were killed and two others suffered permanent brain damage.
Before this investigation, Dolan said the Crown had approved charges in 31 cases investigated by WorkSafeBC between 1996 and 2010, 24 of which resulted in convictions.
Since April 2012, WorkSafeBC has “progressively adopted the theories and methodologies of major case management” Dolan’s statement said. In its own statement, the Crown said at the time of the Babine explosion, WorkSafeBC wasn’t using any standard methods for managing a large case, which “left important issues partly or wholly unexamined.”
The investigation did not come up with a conclusive cause for the fire but did determine it ignited in the basement, setting alight combustible sawdust.
The possibilities of what started the initial fire range from an open flame to static or friction from an electric motor. Once it began, both an in- house and external expert agreed that the dust exploded in a fireball through the mill.
A few months later, in April 2012, another dust- related explosion at the Lakeland Mills in nearby Prince George killed two workers — 43- yearold Alan Little and 46- year- old Glenn Roche.
Though disappointed with Friday’s decision, Nguyen said he doesn’t worry about his safety working at the rebuilt mill.
“I think they learned their lesson,’’ he said. “It was a pretty big accident.’’
Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold said the town is still struggling with the tragedy, and he said every development is tough on the survivors and the victims’ families.
“I think people are trying to understand the decision,’’ he said, adding community members are anxious to see the report next week.