Major Loss
A LARGE SAWMILL FACILITY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA suffered a severe loss overnight after an explosion rocked the plant and started a major fire that has destroyed three production buildings.
CBC-TV
The Lakeland Mills is a major employer in Prince George, B. C., providing occupation for 250 people. There were about 50 people on the job Monday night at 9:45 pm Pacific when the thunderous explosion shook the entire town and immediately lit up the sky with flames 90+ feet high.
The Canadian Press reports:
Brian Croy, first vice-president of the United Steelworkers Local 1-424, was with six people in the mill's lunchroom when the explosion hit. "I don't know where it came from, but it was almost like a cannon going off," he told The Canadian Press.
The blast knocked down the lunchroom's plywood walls, forcing Croy and his coworkers to escape through a hole created in an outside wall.
Though the mill's lights stayed on, Croy said plumes of black smoke made it difficult to move and breathe. Miniature explosions could be heard as Croy and his colleagues got out through the hole. "It's almost like you were coming out of the war zone. Everything was levelled," he said.
All 50 employees have been accounted for, but about 25 were injured, some very seriously, and had to be transported by ambulance and air to several hospitals. Witness reports say that one man had fingers missing and many others were so badly burned that skin was hanging off their arms. They were all taken quickly to an on-site first aid station where primary care was given while awaiting the ambulances.
Canadian Press
The Prince George Fire Department had no choice but to try and contain the fire which destroyed the sawmill building, the log processing facility and the sorting facility. Spared were the planing mill and the "hot oil energy" building where the lumber is dried. Lakeland's primary product is premier-grade kiln dried studs.
The fire is still under a controlled burn this morning (Tuesday) and the FD expects to be occupied on the scene through Wednesday. The incident is still working and investigators are just now arriving to begin searching for the cause of the disaster.
WorkSafe BC is investigating the cause, but the mill was flattened and 250 people were thrown out of work.
Prospects of rebuilding the mill seem dim. The mill's owner, Oregon-based Hampton Affiliates, has said it can't rebuild without a guaranteed timber supply, but there is a shortage of useable timber in the area.
CTV has the early STORY.
CBC-TV has more DETAILS.
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