BC Safety Authority recommendations in fatal mill fire focus on dust

VANCOUVER – A B.C. safety agency has made nine recommendations focused on wood dust in relation to an explosion that killed two workers and injured 20 others a year ago.

The tragedy was one of two fatal sawmill fires in 2012, one of which took place Jan. 20 at the Babine Forest Products sawmill near Burns Lake, in B.C.’s north-central Nechako region.

The BC Safety Authority investigated the tragedy and assessed the installation and operation of sawmill equipment.

Among its nine recommendations for mill operators, the authority says qualified professionals should identify areas in sawmills with dust hazards that could catch fire, and mills should develop better ways to manage that dust.

The report also delivered recommendations to the Office of the Fire Commissioner in B.C., as well as the Canadian Standards Association.

Babine Forest Products says while it hasn’t analyzed the report, it has learned from the tragedy and is committed to make its new sawmill safe.