The inquest into the Babine Forest Products mill deaths will begin on July 13, 2015, at the Island Gospel Fellowship Hall in Burns Lake.
The inquest will examine the circumstances of the deaths that occurred in the explosion at the Babine Forest Products sawmill on Jan. 20, 2012. Robert Luggi Jr., aged 45, and Carl Charlie, aged 42, were both killed in the explosion.
Presiding over the inquest will be Chico Newell, Resource Industry Coroner for the B.C. Coroners Service. Newell has special expertise in cases involving deaths in the forest industry, ranging from logging operations to mills. The coroners counsel will be John Orr.
Among the people expected to attend the inquest is Robert Luggi Jr.’s wife, Maureen Luggi. Maureen was one of the people lobbying for an inquest to be held in Burns Lake.
Steve Zika, Chief Executive Officer of Hampton Affiliates, said he will be attending parts of the inquest. Zika is expected to testify at the inquest in addition to numerous current and former employees.
“We are cooperating fully with the coroner’s office in preparation for the inquest, and have turned over to their office all relevant information related to the accident,” said Zika. “Although we believe the sawmill industry has learned a lot since the accident on dealing with combustible dust, we look forward to considering any findings from the inquest jury that will improve the safety of our workforce.”
Bruce Mallory, former President of Babine Forest Products, along with vice-president of human resources Dave Salmon will also be representing the company at the inquest.
WorkSafeBC will be represented by lawyer Ben Parkin, who will be assisted by Jordon Bank. United Steelworkers Union will be represented by Craig Bavis, who will be assisted by Diane Irvine.
Barb McLintock with the B.C. Coroners Service said there will certainly be some similarities between the evidence found from the Babine Forest Products explosion and the one at Lakeland Mills. In April 2012, two men died as a result of injuries suffered when the Lakeland Mills exploded in Prince George. A coroner’s inquest ruled the deaths of the two men in Prince George as accidental.
“There will also be many individual differences [between the two mill explosions], quite apart from what happened on the night in question, such as how workers and managers saw the condition of the mill before the explosion and any steps that had been taken to mitigate dust buildup,” McLintock said.
“The final classification of the deaths [at Babine Forest Products] will be up to the jury and we would never want to pre-empt their work by suggesting in advance what that might be,” McLintock added.
The first day of the inquest – July 13 - will begin at 9:30 a.m. In the following days, the inquest will take place from 9 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; and 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays.
Although the length of any inquest is variable, the expectation is that the inquest in Burns Lake will end on July 31, 2015.