A construction company has been ordered to pay FortisBC $2,900 for hitting an active gas line while demolishing a house in Burnaby.
Finest Construction & Renovation Ltd. was tearing down a house on Dawson Street when it hit the active FortisBC line, according to a Civil Resolution Tribunal ruling last week.
An emergency crew was dispatched to the scene to shut off the gas and repair the damaged line, and FortisBC then invoiced Finest for the cost.
But the construction company refused to pay, so FortisBC took its complaint to the tribunal.
Finest didn't deny it had damaged the line but argued it wasn't negligent because it had contacted BC 1 Call, a non-profit that helps contractors locate underground utilities, to get information about buried infrastructure, and the documents showed the gas line was disconnected.
FortisBC, however, said the company was negligent because it didn't follow safe digging requirements, including hand digging to locate gas lines.
Tribunal vice-chair Christopher Rivers ruled in favour of FortisBC.
He noted there was a FortisBC map in the package Finest got from BC 1 Call that showed a flame icon indicating live gas was present at the address at which Finest was working.
"I find the evidence shows the gas lines were connected and active and that Finest knew, or ought to have known, about their presence," Rivers said.
He concluded Finest had negligently damaged FortisBC's gas line and ordered the company to pay $2,901.55 in damages as well as the gas company's tribunal fees.
The CRT is an online, quasi-judicial tribunal that hears small claims cases and strata property disputes.
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