RCMP media relations officer Dave Tyreman said the Pinnacle Pellet investigation “remains open,” and that the RCMP is working closely with WorkSafeBC on this matter.
Scott McCloy, media relations director for WorksafeBC, said the investigation is proceeding, but “there are no updates at the present time.”
“An investigation is a quasi-judicial process and as such, we do not make public our investigations until such time as they are concluded,” he said. “At this point, there is no estimate on how long the investigation process will take.”
At approximately 8 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2014, a fire related incident occurred at the Pinnacle Pellet plant in the Burns Lake facility resulting in minor injuries to two employees and more serious, but not critical injuries to a third employee.
According to McCloy, the three injured workers were in the dryer area of the facility at the time of the incident.
The fire was quickly contained and there were no reports of equipment damage.
At the time of the incident, the plant was in a maintenance shutdown.
WorkSafeBC had last inspected the mill on June 17, 2014. At the time of that inspection, it was determined that “combustible dust issues were being managed.”
Investigations have not yet determined whether there was an explosion or a fire on Oct. 9.
