Jim Westell is an unlikely hero. The shy, unassuming man is an electrician at Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Mill. On Jan. 30 his clear, courageous acts saved the life of his workmate, fellow electrician Bill Perry.
Although Westell thinks anyone would have done the same thing, Perry and his partner Corinne Powers see things very differently.
"If Jim hadn't been there, Bill wouldn't have survived," Powers stated. "He grabbed a fire extinguisher to put out the fire on Bill and also on the equipment. He had such a presence of mind and did all the right things. It's just amazing that someone would stay with all that smoke and noise."
The incident occurred on a morning when Perry was working with high voltage equipment in a control cabinet at the mill.According to the mill fire chief Wally Dempster, the "terrible fluke accident" happened when Perry dropped a small magnetic flashlight. It slipped into an opening in the cabinet and landed across two faces of the high voltage bus bars (where the power is brought into the building). That created an electrical arc that ignited everything in its path. The flames were shooting out of the cabinet like a giant blowtorch. Perry was on a ladder in the direct path of the fire. He was there for several seconds until there was finally enough interruption in the flow of the electricity and Perry fell away.Westell recalls the sight vividly. He was about 10 feet away from Perry.
"He looked like one of those stunt men in a movie, except he wasn't a stunt man," Westell related. "He was completely on fire from head to toe. I knew right away he was seriously injured. I got the fire extinguisher and put out the flames on him and in the cabinet," Westell said.
Next he called the first aid attendant, Cathy Prescesky. Because of the smoke, fire alarms had been set off and the building had been evacuated. As Westell was opening doors in the room to clear the smoke, he saw another electrician who came to help. Only after that did Westell get help for himself.
Both men were airlifted to Vancouver. Westell was treated for smoke inhalation and released the same day. For Perry it's been a seven-month fight to regain his health. The strength and courage of Perry through his injury and long healing process have been an inspiration to Westell.
For the first few weeks after the accident, Perry, who was burned over 58 per cent of his body, was kept in an induced coma. When he came to, the first thing he remembered seeing was a wall of cards from his fellow employees at the mill.Perry is amazed at Westell's clear thinking during the accident.
"Jimmy did everything right as far as I'm concerned. It would have been really easy to just take off," Perry said.Perry also has kind words for the burn unit at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH).
"They are wonderful people, very supportive," he said.
And although it would appear Perry is done with the many surgeries he's had since the accident, he still has many more months of physiotherapy to endure. Perry's worst burns were through his trunk. However, for the 26-year employee, getting the use of his hands back will hopefully mean a return to work.
"Coming back to work is not out of the question - not in my mind anyway," he said.
"I consider myself pretty lucky in spite of what people might think. Jimmy was top-notch. The rescue people were top-notch. And then Howe Sound allowed Corinne to be in the hospital with me for the first month.
"I just want to say a big thank you to all those involved. I really don't think it could have gone much better," Perry shared.
His recovery has astounded many of his colleagues. He was in VGH until June 14. After that he went to G.F. Strong to begin rehabilitation. He came home to Roberts Creek on Aug. 3.
Westell recalls visiting Perry in VGH and having the burned man point to his swollen lips and tell Westell, "Women pay hundreds of dollars for Botox for this."
Elfie Hofmann, human resources manager with the mill, echoes Westell's esteem for Perry.
"Bill and Corinne have handled this whole thing with so much grace and tenacity. Bill's inner strength and sense of humour never left," Hofmann said.
Perry and Powers held a thank you get together for the fire and rescue people at the mill on Aug. 25. Perry had a red carnation and a thank you card for each person - a move Dempster said meant a lot.
"Most often, emergency people don't have contact with people or have an opportunity to get an update on the person's condition. We're very grateful to Corinne and Bill for bringing us together," he said.
The mill, along with WorkSafe BC, the RCMP and the electrical safety branch, have been conducting investigations since the accident to make sure it doesn't happen again.
