Sheila Howe and Gerry Hill are suing Coal Island Ltd., Carlton Contractors Ltd., FortisBC Energy Inc. and the City of Burnaby for damages for loss of equipment and loss of business income as a result of a fire that was allegedly caused by a combination of errors.
The fire started when unknown men employed by Coal and Carlton started cutting scrap metal on the side of a property next to a natural gas line, Howe and Hill allege in their February 10 notice of civil claim.
Despite working near flammable material that included old tires and wood, the men allegedly had no fire extinguishers.
The men allegedly ignited a fire that spread to a nearby natural gas meter, creating a torch that was sustained by natural gas flow through the line.
The notice of civil claim alleges the City of Burnaby had paved over the shut-off valve for the natural gas meter. That caused a delay until the pavement could be jack-hammered to get to the valve.
Compounding the fire damage further was the fact that Coal and Carlton had no sprinklers in the building where Howe and Hill were renting a 1,000-square-foot unit to store equipment for their company Showtime Productions.
Howe and Hill claim that Coal and Carlton should have ensured the workers were cutting metal in a way that would not cause a fire. Further, Howe and Hill believe that Coal and Carlton should have made sure that the units they were renting had sprinklers.
The City of Burnaby was also culpable, Howe and Hill say, because city workers did not ensure that the building had sprinklers as was required by a city bylaw. The City of Burnaby similarly should not have paved over the shut-off valve.
FortisBC, Howe and Hill say, should not have allowed their natural gas meter's shut-off valve to be paved over.
None of the allegations have been proved in court. A response to this claim had not been filed by presstime •
