Auto dealer faces $250K fine in deadly blast

A Nova Scotia auto dealer has pleaded guilty in a deadly explosion at a Dartmouth body shop two and a half years ago.

O'Regan Chevrolet Cadillac Ltd. was due to be sentenced Monday on one count of failing to provide a safe workplace a charge under the province's Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The maximum fineis $250,000. The prosecution and defence don't agree on a sentence, andthe hearing was postponed until next month.

Thefire and explosion tore through the O'Regan Kia body shop on Wyse Road on March 13, 2008. Kyle Hickey, a 22-year-old employee who prepared vehicles for painting and bodywork, died in hospital the next day.

According to court documents, the fire started in a barrel full of flammable solvents, which were used to wash a paint gun. But investigators couldn't determine what sparked the fire.

The company admitted that the proper safetywarnings were not posted around the chemicals,and the barrel was notgrounded according to regulations. Italso could not produce written proof that it had received any site-specific safety training as required by law.

O'Regan was charged last yearwith five counts under the health and safety act. Prosecutor Jim Clarke said four counts were dropped as part of pre-trial negotiations.

The company pleaded guilty to the single count in early July.