The explosion and fire at Lakeland Mills that left two men dead and 22 injured on April 23 also left 150 mill workers without jobs.
To help piece together their shattered lives, mill worker Darlene Bray says it is vital for her fellow employees to take advantage of the support now being offered to them.
Bray, a 12-year employee in Lakeland's planer mill, is not the sole breadwinner in her family and the loss of her income is not as devastating as it is to many of the mill workers. But without a regular paycheque every second Friday, the shock of losing her job still cuts deeply.
"I talked to some of my co-workers and some of them didn't know you could ask for [loan] deferral -- they were lost," said Bray. "Families have developed a lifestyle they are accustomed to based on one income and now all of sudden that is gone. As well as the emotions of losing co-workers or being injured, now they could be financially ruined. It's so overwhelming to deal with, if you let it be."
The day after the fire, Integris Credit Union gave Bray and other Lakeland employees a letter to offer a minimum of four months of deferred mortgage payments. Since then, several other banks have followed through with similar offers. Bray recently purchased a new truck and went to the bank that handles that loan and was told she's eligible only for the standard two-payment deferral.
Lakeland has held regular meetings to discuss initiatives to help mill workers. Bray has been one of the most vocal workers asking questions at those meetings and her co-workers have been coming to her for advice on how to deal with their own situations.
"I'm very impressed with the Sinclar Group and the union (United Steelworkers) and how they've come together to work collaboratively to help us get back on our feet and I'm amazed at what the community has done to support us workers," Bray said. "The services are there for us but you have to be ready to go out and get them and work for them. As proud as we are, we have to be willing to accept that help, and you have to take it, it's not going to be given to you."
Two separate funds to benefit Lakeland families have been set up through the Prince George Community Foundation and city residents and local businesses have responded with cash donations and planned fundraisers.
Lakeland has arranged for trauma and grief counselling and other social support workers. The company has promised to pay employees medical benefits for the next six months, and has provided job searching and resume writing workshops. It has also worked out an arrangement with Service BC to replace pieces of identification for mill workers, whose wallets were burned in the fire and is working closely with the Service Canada to speed up processing of employment insurance claims.
Some of the mill workers have known no other employer, having been hired 20 or 30 years ago right out of high school. Now that job security is gone.
Many are not even close to retirement age and they now have to tackle the unfamiliar tasks of writing up resumes and looking for work.
"When you've been at that mill for as long as they have, you take so much for granted as far as everything that's in place," Bray said.
The fire on April 23 took the lives of Alan Little and Glenn Roche, who died of their injuries the following day. The day of the fire, Bray worked a day shift wrapping loads of lumber in the planer mill. She had just finished a week of night shifts the previous Thursday.
"I was at home and thank God I wasn't there when this happened," said Bray. "I consider myself a very strong person but I'm so glad I wasn't there. Mentally, I don't think I could have handled it. I sat with one of my co-workers at the first meeting and he said it was a nightmare.
"At first, apparently the planer mill rocked and they all thought it was an earthquake. They were all leaving when people from [the sawmill] started to come through, looking for help, and they didn't recognize them. They were black. It was just a horrendous thing and they said that image will stick in their life for a long time. Thank God the union and Lakeland have counselling in place for these people because they will need it."
Bray has no idea what's in store for the mill and whether the Sinclar Group will rebuild a family operation that's been in place since 1962.
"It would be a pleasure to go back to work for these people because they have made such an effort to help me when I needed them," Bray said. "I'm optimistic it is going to reopen. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I'll find another job, because it's going to be awhile before they come back. I'm sad to see such a big part of the community like that disappear in a flash, and the people that lost people in that fire, I can't imagine what they're feeling. A part of my life is gone but I do hope it will be back."
n Four mill workers are in out-of-town hospitals and one remains in Prince George being treated for severe burns. Joe Prince and Mike Burke are in Vancouver General Hospital, where they were both in critical and improving condition Friday afternoon. Allan Morin was transferred from UHNBC to Vancouver General on Thursday. He's in serious and improving condition. Barry Dyck is in intensive care after surgery at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, where he's listed in stable condition. One other mill worker is in stable condition at UHNBC.
