Prince George, B.C. – While witnesses report an explosion followed by fire at the Babine Forest Products sawmill in Burns Lake on Friday night, the BC Safety Authority says it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the incident.

"In this particular case, because of the unknown nature of what has happened at the scene, we have sent Safety Officers from the gas technology, the electrical technology, and the boiler and pressure vessels technology to the site," says BCSA’s Director of Technical Programs, Greg Paddon.

"And once they have been given access to the site, we will be looking for any evidence which will help us determine if any of those technologies were involved in this incident."  As the primary investigating agency, the RCMP retain control of the millyard.

Paddon says, "At our last update, we are still not on the actual site (but) we were involved in a perimeter inspection with WorkSafe yesterday afternoon."

The two organizations often work hand-in-hand on critical incident investigations of this nature. WorkSafeBC’s responsibility lies with worker safety, including safety around equipment, while the BC Safety Authority is responsible for ensuring that the equipment is installed and working correctly.

Paddon says Babine Forest Products had all the necessary permits in place. "We are still compiling a history and details about the rest of the operation, but current permits are in place."