Lakeland Mills sawmill reopening brings back painful memories of fatal explosion

Lakeland Mills sawmill is reopening in Prince George, B.C. two years after an explosion and fire that engulfed the facility, killing two people and injuring 24 others.

The company was fined $724,000 by WorkSafeBC this July and is appealing the decision, but no criminal charges were ever laid in the deaths of Alan Little, 43, and Glenn Roche, 46, because of concerns over the admissibility of WorkSafeBC evidence.

• Lakeland Mills explosion: witnesses described seeing a 'ball of flame'
• Lakeland Mills explosion: WorkSafeBC fines company $724k
• ​​Deadly Lakeland sawmill explosion to be probed at inquest

Two years after the explosion, the mill has been entirely rebuilt and opened this week. For Bruce Germyn, whose face was severely burned in the fire, it all brings back painful memories.

"I remember crying for water, 'Where's the water, where's the water I need water,'" Germyn said.

Germyn said people at the hospital described his burns as so bad he was unrecognizable. Two years on, he's still recovering from his injuries.

"I have severe pain in my ears, it's a burning sensation that doesn't go away and my face is as numb as a pin cushion," he said.

The Lakeland Mills sawmill explosion was partly blamed on an accumulation of wood dust — something company president Greg Stewart says the new mill is designed to eliminate.

"We all have to work together to make sure we provide a safe work environment," Stewart said.

About 110 workers are returning to the mill, 50 fewer than before. Germyn will not be among them.

"I've been to the gate once, and that's it...It's still a real problem zone for me because of what I've seen, what I felt, what I've smelled. That stuff replays over and over."

Hear Rafferty Baker's report on the sawmill for CBC's Daybreak North by clicking the audio clip labelled: Lakeland sawmill reopening