A Nanaimo-based excavating company received a Fortis B.C. award for going 20 years without ever damaging a gas line.
Granby Bobcat Service is one of three companies in the province recognized recently.
Each year, Fortis B.C. crews repair about 1,000 third-party damages to natural gas lines. So far, in 2022, repairs from those mishaps have cost more than $2 million dollars and each of those incidents poses danger to the public, according to a Fortis B.C. press release.
Fortis B.C.’s excavation safety awards recognize companies with “stellar” safe digging track records and companies that have taken steps to promote safe excavation practices and education.
Granby Bobcat Service Ltd., serving Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Chemainus since 2002, provides excavating, landscaping, hauling and other service. The other two companies to receive the award are Hexel Construction Ltd., which operates in the Lower Mainland and Mr. Service Ltd., based in Kamloops.
The awards were presented by the Fortis B.C. public safety team at the Canadian Common Ground Alliance’s 2022 Damage Prevention Symposium in late October.
“While these awards are for construction companies, we ask all homeowners to dig safely to help avoid the safety hazards and costly repairs associated with damaging buried natural gas lines or other utility lines,” said Tanya Kowalenko, Fortis B.C. public safety manager, in the release.
Any yard digging should start by reaching out to B.C. 1 Call to request the location of underground gas and other utility lines on a property. For more information, visit www.fortisbc.com/digsafe.
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