SEATTLE (Oil Monster): An investigation into an explosion at a Vancouver Island military base last year has found that contractors working near a live natural gas line misunderstood the risk of a blast.
The explosion happened on Nov. 18, 2021 at Canadian Forces Base Comox — also known as 19 Wing Comox — and left 28 people injured, including six civilians and multiple members of the military.
Technical Safety B.C. (TSBC), a regulator of technical systems and equipment in the province, released a report into the incident last week.
It found that the explosion — which was caught on the military airfield's camera and threw debris more than 100 metres from its epicentre — was caused by an excavator accidentally severing a gas line.
The excavator was being operated by a contracting company that is unnamed in the report and was at the military base installing a perimeter drain around the barracks.
"No actions were taken prior to the excavation work commencing to anticipate for an accidental gas release," reads the TSBC report.
"There was no spotter directly observing the excavator work at the time. The excavator bucket contacted the gas line where it re-entered the ground, severing it completely."
After the line was severed, gas leaked into a nearby mechanical room through an open door. The explosion happened approximately 10 or 15 minutes later, according to the report.
Once the gas accumulated to explosive concentrations, it met an ignition source and caused the barracks to blow up. It happened before the barracks and mechanical room were fully evacuated. One of the people caught in the blast was injured seriously enough to require an airlift to a nearby hospital, though the report notes their injury was "moderate," and the other injuries were minor.
CBC News has asked WorkSafeBC, B.C.'s workplace regulator, if any fines were levied in the incident.
Courtesy: www.cbc.ca
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