A former Prince George resident lost her life in a freak industrial explosion in Auckland, New Zealand last weekend.
Philomen Jeanne Gulland (ne Penner), 48, was one of seven municipal utility workers repairing a broken water pipe about four metres below ground when a blast occurred.
The incident killed Gulland instantly and caused the loss of both legs plus other major injuries for her friend and colleague Ian Winson. Three other workers also required hospitalization.
The explosion happened Saturday at about 7:30 a.m. in the Onehunga district of New Zealand's most populous city.
She leaves behind two teenaged children, son Cameron and daughter Emma, as well as mother Margaret and father Bernard plus numerous siblings and their families.
According to preliminary reports, the explosion is strongly suspected to be linked to a buildup of methane gas. It is possible that the blast was ignited by the electrically generated spark of a camera when a fellow worker snapped a photograph of the pipe as repairs were about to begin.
Mark Ford, chief executive for Watercare, Auckland's municipal water company, said in a news conference that Gulland was a good friend and valued maintenance planner.
"I knew her personally; she was highly respected," he said. "Even though she was on a different floor to me, I could hear her laugh from my floor. She was exceedingly popular."
He said she and Winson had been important members of the Watercare contingent dispatched to Christchurch in the wake of the disastrous earthquake there in February.
"They were there in Christchurch's hour of need. Now their families have their hour of need," Ford said.
"The people there are bending over backwards," her father, Bernard Penner, told The Citizen.
He confirmed that arrangements so far away are made easier thanks to the strong support network Gulland had there, and the family's familiarity with her adopted home in New Zealand.
"We travel there all the time," he said.
Before moving to Auckland, Gulland was an employee of the District of Maple Ridge. She, her then-husband and the children moved to New Zealand six years ago.
Media reports following the blast described her as a keen runner and walker and particularly favoured an Oxfam trail on the north island.
It is to the Oxfam organization that the family has requested donations be directed in lieu of flowers.
A private service will be held for Gulland in Auckland. There was no announcement of any memorials in British Columbia.
