Families of two men killed in explosion at northern Alberta oil and gas site call for answers

The relatives of two men killed this month in an explosion on an oil and gas site in northern Alberta are calling for answers in the tragedy. 

Greg Podulsky, 29, and Darcy Schwindt, 47, were killed Nov. 12 in a blast at the Marten Hills site near Slave Lake, about 250 kilometres north of Edmonton. The site is operated by Calgary-based Tamarack Valley Energy.

The deaths are being investigated by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety.

Podulsky's mother, Charlene Nahamko, said she wants to know what went wrong to ensure other families aren't subjected to the same loss her family now faces. 

"As people in Alberta, in the workforce, and in our world today, we just we need to do better," Nahamko said.

Her grief has left her feeling frozen in time, she said.

"I can't stress enough the change, the emptiness of how it changes your whole world," Nahamko said in an interview.

"It's been tough for everybody and I always say every day is Groundhog Day." 

Nahamko said her son had a tremendous talent for art and music which included drawing, painting, and playing the electric guitar. 

Podulsky was raised in Whitecourt, Alta. Nahamko said he was inspired to pursue welding as a career after an uncle, who had just finished studying welding at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, took Podulsky under his wing.

Podulsky worked hard as a journeyman welder but was also a free spirit, his mother said. He was a fan of tie-dyed clothing and she now wears the colourful clothing in his honour, she said.

"We used to always tell him that he should have been born in the 1970s Woodstock era."

Nahamko said her son was exceedingly kind and generous.

"To Greg, everybody was his best friend and he treated them all like that," she said. "It didn't matter what time of day it was, it didn't matter where you were, who you were ... if you needed him in any way, he was there for you."

A wonderful uncle 

Ivan Schwindt said his youngest brother, Darcy Schwindt, was loving person and devoted friend.

"Darcy has been a wonderful brother to me and just a great human being," Schwindt said. "Any time he walks into a room, he's got just a great sense of humour that he brings out in everybody."

Dallas Schwindt, Ivan's wife, said the family is still reeling from the tragedy.

"I think our prayer is just that, from this tragedy, it can be prevented in the future and that no other family will ever have to go through this kind of hurt and pain, and that we can make sure that this doesn't happen again," Dallas Schwindt said.

She said the hardest part was telling her two daughters that their uncle had died.

"Where Darcy really shined was as an uncle ... that's maybe been the hardest part is just seeing my girls just hurt and and miss someone just so much."

Work remains suspended at the site where the explosion happened.

The two workers who were killed were not direct employees of Tamarack, but contractors. 

In a statement released last week, Tamarack Valley Energy CEO Brian Schmidt said he didn't know when the company would restart operations.

Schmidt said he was devastated by the deaths of the two contract employees, the first workplace deaths in Tamarack's history.

The families said funeral arrangements are being made for both men.