A Flin Flon company is facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines after a propane explosion in 2016.
Superior General Partner Inc., the parent company of northern Manitoba propane company Stittco Energy Limited, was ordered to pay $70,000 in penalties and fines last month in relation to a blast that injured a third-party contracted worker on company property in May 2016.
According to a media release from the Department of Growth, Enterprise and Trade, the worker was doing maintenance work on a propane pump truck in a building used as a maintenance garage. The vehicle had been parked inside the garage overnight, allowing some propane from the truck’s dispensing system to seep into the garage.
The worker, who was unaware of the leak, lit an acetylene torch the next morning and ignited the propane, causing an explosion.
The worker sustained serious injuries and taken to Flin Flon General Hospital, then flown to Winnipeg for further treatment. The garage was destroyed in the blast, sending debris across Third Avenue. People as far away as the Hudbay property uptown reported hearing and feeling the explosion.
After an investigation, Superior General Partner Inc. pled guilty to “failing to ensure the safety and health of members of the public in relation to their workplace activities.” The Office of the Fire Commissioner of Manitoba ruled in June 2016 that the explosion was caused when the worker’s torch ignited leaking propane.
An investigation by the provincial Workplace Safety and Health department was started soon after the explosion.
The shop, located near the rail line and the intersection of Channing Drive and Third Avenue, was eventually rebuilt.
