JJ Bean owner 'shocked' BC Hydro knew vault that exploded was high-risk, wants pay out

The owner of a popular coffee chain said he was shocked when he found out BC Hydro was aware that the vault that exploded in downtown Vancouver earlier this year had previously been deemed high-risk.

John Neate’s shop inside the historic Marine Building on Burrard Street near Hastings was one of many severely impacted by the February blast.

“Initially I thought this was an accident,” the owner and founder of JJ Bean Coffee Rosters told CTV News.

"I think it's totally unacceptable that something that could have been prevented wasn't prevented,” he continued.

On Thursday, BC Hydro announced a third-party investigation found the fire and explosion was caused by a buildup of gases from a leaking gasket in the lid of an oil-filled switch.

The Crown-owned company’s CEO admitted that 14 vaults, including the one on Burrard Street that exploded, had been deemed high-risk in 2016 by the utility’s own assessment, which said failure to replace them could result in severe injury or death.

The assessment recommended the vault be updated by 2018, and while the utility says it moved to do so, that was delayed so it could upgrade another nearby vault.

Neate says if the blast, which happened just before 6 p.m. had happened a few hours earlier, it would have been a disaster.

"If the patio would have been full, and it often is even in the winter time, my staff would have been out there cleaning the patio, this explosion would have incinerated them,” he said.

“There needs to be a little more accountability,” he continued.

The location, which is one of the company’s marquee spots, has been closed ever since.

Neate says his biggest concern is the loss of revenue.

“We have insurance to cover our losses while we’re closed,” he said.

“But as soon as we re-open, that’s not going to come back instantly,”

Neate worries some customers may never come back.

“Customers are not going to walk through scaffolding to get into our store, they want to feel like construction is over, there's no risk of fire, or explosion,” he explained.

He says he’s had some conversations with BC Hydro, but hasn’t received any commitments from them.

"My hope is that Hydro will make it right,”

In an email to CTV News, a BC Hydro spokesperson confirmed they’ve been in contact with the coffee company, and the other impacted business.

“We have settled with two of the businesses and we are waiting for the others to complete restoration work and understand the full scope of their claims before we compensate them.”

“When the insurance claim and documentation is submitted – we’ll work with their insurer. We are in regular contact with the administrative manager for JJ Bean and are committed to compensating them. “