A single public inquest into the deaths of four workers who died in two sawmill explosions in 2012 will take place in March of next year announced the B.C. Coroners Service last week.
Robert Luggi Jr. and Carl Charlie were killed in the explosion and fire at the Babine Forest Products sawmill in Burns Lake in January 2012 and Alan Little and Glenn Roche were killed in the explosion at the Lakeland sawmill in Prince George.
The public inquest will begin on Mar. 2, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. at the Prince George courthouse.
Wilf Adam, Chief of Lake Babine Nation says he is disappointed that there will only be one inquest looking into both explosions.
“It’s very unfortunate that they decided to do it this way,” Adam said, “Both situations may be different and being from a small town the big city will get more attention.”
The decision to hold the single inquest was made after the review of the information surrounding the two explosions, and the B.C. Coroners Service believes that a single inquest will allow for the most effective examination of questions surrounding the incidents.
Lapointe noted that the B.C. Coroners Service recognizes the importance of providing access to the proceedings for residents of Burns Lake.
To that end, the B.C. Coroners Service is working closely with Court Services to provide a live broadcast to the community of Burns Lake.