Report on explosion at B.C. military base details 'several steps' that could have prevented injuries

A report has been issued by Technical Safety BC on the Nov. 18, 2021, incident that saw 28 people injured in an explosion at 19 Wing Comox.

The blast occurred as crews were doing renovations to a military barracks building. It caused walls to blow out and a partial collapse of the second-storey floor.

“It was a large explosion, it led to significant property damage and unfortunately injuries,” says Ryan Hazlett, leader of investigations for Technical Safety BC.

The 18-page report, which is embedded at the end of this article, says an excavator struck a gas line that had been first exposed by hand as crews were installing a new perimeter drain around the occupied barracks.

The report says escaping gas migrated inside the building for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before contacting an ignition source, creating the explosion.

“(Crew members) all understood that the gas line was live. There is a certain amount of time once the gas line was damaged in terms of notifying utility and the time it takes them to get there and turn it off,” Hazlett says.

The report says contractors had followed procedures by contacting BC 1 Call to locate the gas line and had exposed it for 4.5 metres using hand tools, but did not have a spotter in place when the excavator struck the line, nor was the incident witnessed.

“There was several steps that could have been taken after the gas line was exposed that could have prevented this incident,” Hazlett says.

A similar blast levelled a 100-year-old home in Fernie in February of this year, causing injuries to two people.

Hazlett says the two events so close together raise safety concerns for the agency. He believes workers may be getting a false sense of security, assuming they can work close to gas lines simply because they are exposed.

“Think about the big what if … What happens if we do hit that gas line and can we take some precautions around what the consequences could be,” he says.