Construction work and not gunshots, says local construction company

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A person stands in a black sweater and yellow reflective vest. They hold a yellow safety helmet in their hand at their side. — Construction work to begin on Tuesday, February 17th in the area of 86th Street and 93rd Avenue. (Canva)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A local construction company wants to reassure residents of Fort St. John that upcoming work is construction noise and not gun shots.

W.L. Construction, in an email sent on February 13th, wanted to reassure residents in the area of 86th Street and 93rd Avenue, construction work scheduled for Tuesday, February 17th, will be using powder-actuated tools that produce noise that can be mistaken for gunshots.

This comes after the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School shootings that happened on February 10th.

Martin Cullen, partner and project manager for W.L. Construction, told Energeticcity.ca: “Beginning next week, we will be using powder-actuated tools on-site.

“Powder-actuated tools use a small gunpowder cartridge to drive pins and while they are not firearms, the noise they produce can easily be mistaken for gunshots.”

The company also informed School District 60 about the construction.

The construction of the building is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, February 17th and it is expected to continue for the remainder of the week.

“This type of activity is common for us, and under normal circumstances we wouldn’t anticipate issues,” Cullen said. “However, given the heightened sensitivities following the recent tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, we want to do our part to reduce the potential for panic.”