While the cause of the fire that destroyed Meadow Creek Forest Products’ sawmill at Cooper Creek in November remains a mystery, the company says combustible sawdust isn’t to blame.
“There’s absolutely nothing to that,” spokesman Bob Bortolin said in an interview this week. “The danger exists primarily in mills handling beetle-killed pine. All the lumber we were doing was still alive. You still have an issue with dust, but not to the same degree.”
Accumulated dust has been responsible for several mill fires in BC over the last few years, some of them fatal.
Bortolin said the company took an “active role” to ensure dust was vacuumed up as part of an overall cleaning program. Investigators told him that had dust been a factor, the fire likely would have been accompanied by an explosion. While neighbours reported what sounded like an explosion, the investigation determined it was more likely the collapse of the roof or floor. That was based on an examination of the building’s sheet metal for perforations and a lack of material ejected in the surrounding area.
WorkSafeBC inspected the mill three times last year following its acquisition by San Group. After the first visit on June 25, an inspector wrote: “I discussed that once the mill is in operation it will become a combustible dust inspection work site and to expect combustible dust focused inspections. I advised they will need to develop a combustable dust management program.”
A similar statement was made after a follow-up visit on September 3, but dust was never flagged as a problem. At the time of the fire, the mill only had one outstanding safety order, regarding lockout procedures.
The company complied with three earlier orders around equipping an emergency vehicle and dressing station, developing written first aid procedures, and safeguarding certain pieces of equipment. (The full inspection reports are below.)
Bortolin, who spent several days with fire investigators, said the origin was narrowed to a 12-by-12 meter area on the northwest side of the building. However, the cause remains elusive.
“It was 2 o’clock in the morning. We didn’t have anybody out there welding or grinding,” he said. “Somebody walked through the mill earlier in the evening and there was no sign of anything wrong.”
However, the fire is not considered suspicious.
The company expects to rebuild the mill on the same site, but Bortolin didn’t know how quickly it will happen or what form it will take.
“It might be that it goes down to the bare ground. The costs are being put forward by an engineering company,” he said.
About 20 employees were laid off as a result of the fire. Although some other buildings and equipment escaped the fire unscathed, the operation is idle.
The damage total has not been established.
The Office of the Fire Commissioner investigated along with WorkSafeBC and the BC Safety Authority.