Burns Lake, B.C.- Crown Counsel had advised   it will not pursue charges  in the January 2012 explosion and fire at the Babine Sawmill  because there is no substantial likelihood of  convictions.

Crown says there are two main reasons for that conclusion;   inadmissibility of some of the evidence gathered by investigators, and  the defence of due diligence.

Hampton Affiliates, which  owns  the Babine Mill  has issued a statement,  Steve Zeka, CEO of Hampton Affiliates says   while pleased no charges will be approved by  Crown Council, “ “we never will forget the terrible tragedy and the resulting effects on our employees, their families and the community of Burns Lake.  We have done our best in the aftermath to care for our affected employees and their families and mitigate the impact on the community.”

Zeka says the company has cooperated fully with  WorkSafeBC and the BC Safety Authority   in their investigation of the January 20th  explosion and fire that killed two and injured  20 others “While we have not seen their official investigation reports, we doubt the actual cause of the explosion will ever be known.  We believe the cause was related to combustible pine beetle dust and have worked with the Forest Industry Task Force in conjunction with WorkSafe to develop new safety processes to dramatically reduce the risk of future such accidents.”

Zeka says  the new mill, which will be operational  in  February,  has “ state-of-the art equipment and systems to collect sawdust at machine sources.  It also has equipment, building and floor plans designed to facilitate clean-up and reduce areas where sawdust can accumulate.”

United Steelworkers  local 1-424 President Frank Everitt says  first and foremost,  condolences  must be offered to the families of those who died, and  to those who were injured   as the second  anniversary of the  tragedy  is closing in “Based on what   we see in front of us, we can’t disagree with Crown’s decision  but we would certainly like to see all of the  investigated findings.” The full WorkSafeBC report will be released next week  “We look forward to having access to that report to   go over it,  that’s  critical  in mind to making the ongoing safety  of  people who work in the forest industry and in our  operations in the Province.”

Meantime, Lakeland Mills says it will offer no comment on the   decision released today, nor will it speculate on what  Crown counsel’s decision will be with respect to the Lakeland incident.  Two people died, 22 workers injured  in April of 2012 when the Lakeland mill exploded and burned to the ground.