Penticton firm fined $38,000 for hitting gas line

A Penticton excavation company have been fined $38,000 after it hit a gas line while working on a road.

According to a recently published Sept. 2 WorkSafeBC penalty notice, TwinCon Enterprises were handed the $37,717 fine after the firm struck the gas line in Summerland. The damage caused natural gas to be released.

“WorkSafeBC determined the firm failed to ensure it accurately determined the location of underground utility services before excavating,” the penalty notice states. “The firm also failed to ensure it operated its powered excavating equipment in a way that avoided damage to underground utility services and danger to workers.”

The penalty notice gives no information about when the incident took place or how long the pipe was leaking gas before it was fixed.

The provincial safety regulator says the incident was high-risk and a repeated violation.

No other information is given in the penalty notice.

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Ben Bulmer

After a decade of globetrotting, U.K. native Ben Bulmer ended up settling in Canada in 2009. Calling Vancouver home he headed back to school and studied journalism at Langara College. From there he headed to Ottawa before winding up in a small anglophone village in Quebec, where he worked for three years at a feisty English language newspaper. Ben is always on the hunt for a good story, an interesting tale and to dig up what really matters to the community.