Three people were charged in relation to an explosion at a hazardous waste management company that killed a worker, Niagara police say.
Emergency crews were called to Ssonix Products in the early hours of Jan. 12, 2023, to attend a series of explosions and a fire. The explosions triggered the evacuation of nearby homes, as crews worked to put out the fire.
As a result of a “continued joint investigation” by police, the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office, the local fire department, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Environment and the Ontario Provincial Police, three people were charged with “criminal negligence causing death” and “arson by negligence,” police said in a news release on Monday.
The company’s website said its line of business includes producing gasoline, kerosene, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils and lubricants.
In September of last year, Ssonix Products and three directors faced 84 combined charges under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour also issued 11 requirements and one order to Ssonix Products early last year.
Orders are issued when a ministry inspector determines a contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Some examples include clearing debris to prevent trip hazards or protecting workers from electrical hazards.
Requirements are orders issued when an inspector has to get information or verify compliance. Examples of those include a requirement to provide documents or to keep employees away from the scene.
37-year-old Ryan Konkin was the only person in the building at the time. He was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries.
His fiancée, Natalia Sepúlveda-Lastra, said at the time she was “relieved” to hear the update from the ministry.
She described Konkin as hilarious and a “hard worker,” and told CBC Hamilton last year first responders who treated him heard his final words.
“He managed to say to the nurses, ‘All I did was open the door.’ … I wish I could’ve been the one that heard that,” she said in March of last year.