The Burns Lake, B.C., sawmill destroyed by a deadly fire earlier this month had been struck by a fire almost one year ago, CBC News has learned.
A report filed by the BC Safety Authority says the February 2011 fire was likely fuelled by the combination of a small dust explosion and the use of dry beetle wood at the Babine Forest Products sawmill.
"Examination of equipment in the vicinity of the switch identified sawdust accumulation in and on equipment," says the report. "The saw dust appeared to be unusually dry due to the wood source [pine beetle-killed wood] and preceding weather conditions."
Investigators could not determine exactly how the fire started.
"[Whatever the ignition source], this ignited surrounding combustibles [wood dust]," the report says.
"If there was dust accumulation within the equipment, the small explosion within the switch may have stirred up enough dust to cause a small dust explosion within the switch — thereby further propagating the fire. The likelihood that a small dust explosion occurred is supported by the evidence of arcing between the copper plates below the fuses ... and deposits of molten metal."
No one was killed or injured in that fire. Damage was estimated at $500,000.
Burns Lake is still recovering after a devastating fire that destroyed the mill, the town's main employer, earlier this month.
Carl Charlie and Robert Luggi were killed and 19 others injured when the explosion and fire tore through the mill on Jan. 20.
Several mill workers told CBC News about high levels of dust in the facility, which can be an explosion hazard.
A WorkSafeBC report written just weeks before the fire noted dust levels in the mill's basement were more than twice the acceptable level.
The cause of the fire and explosion is still under investigation.
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