Mechanic Peter Kempton's death came after repeated bylaw orders
A Dartmouth auto repair shop where an employee was killed in an explosion last year was under repeated orders to clean debris and derelict cars off the premises, beginning as early as 2006.
A CBC Nova Scotia investigation found that bylaw officers with the Halifax Regional Municipality visited and called Your Mechanic Auto Corner dozens of times to enforce orders under the Dangerous or Unsightly Premises bylaw.
Your Mechanic Auto Corner eventually complied with all of the cleanup orders. They were never raised with provincial Department of Labour inspectors and the Halifax Regional Municipality said they weren't considered red flags.
In September 2013, Peter Kempton was working underneath a minivan, without a hoist, in the yard of Your Mechanic Auto Corner on Main Street in Dartmouth. Kempton was removing a part when the vehicle caught fire and exploded.
He was severely burned and died in hospital.
Shannon Kempton, his daughter, said she believes unsafe working conditions contributed to her father's death.
The Department of Labour confirmed inspectors never visited the shop before the September 2013 accident.
Kempton questions why.
Fatality under investigation
"Why aren't auto shops on the radar? Why aren't they being inspected? It's a dangerous occupation," she said.
"I don't for a second say it was the Department of Labour's fault that my dad was killed because they didn't put him under that car. But had someone visited that shop in the years that it was on Main Street, it would have been a different situation maybe."
Nova Scotia Labour Minister Kelly Regan said it's concerning that the shop had not been inspected.
She said the province inspects "those kinds of workplaces now and obviously that change has come about because I am concerned."
The owner of Your Mechanic Auto Corner, Elie Hoyeck, denies any responsibility in Kempton's death. He said while he asked Kempton to remove the oil tank from the minivan, he said Kempton chose to use an oxy-acetylene torch to do the work rather than using a safer method.
The fatality is under investigation by RCMP and the Department of Labour.
Immediately after the accident, Hoyeck was hit with a stop work order and 22 safety orders at Your Mechanic Auto Corner. None of the orders were complied with because the landlord sold the property and the business was forced to shut down.
Hoyeck has since set up two new businesses — one in Milford and the other at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
Since May, he has received 13 more safety orders. Most have been complied with.
