A propane supply company has been slapped with a $4,000 fine for numerous safety violations on worksites in Dawson City and Carmacks.

Super Save Propane Yukon pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Gas Burning Devices Act in territorial court Tuesday morning.

A gas inspector discovered four industrial gas drums hooked up illegally — and dangerously — on two construction jobs last May, the judge said.

"The safety of the public is paramount, and in this type of situation, it's imperative that companies obtain permits,”

Judge Peter Chisholm told the courtroom.

On May 13, 2013, an inspector with the Department of Community Services visited the Triple J Hotel in downtown Dawson.

The downtown establishment was building a new 29-room annex, and three 2,000-gallon propane tanks were sitting in what had previously been a parking lot.

The inspector noted the installation of the tanks — completed the previous week — had not been authorized by his office.

They had also been hooked up and filled by a person who was not a licensed gas fitter, said territorial lawyer Tracy McPhee.

"This is a situation where the safety of Yukoners is at stake,” she told the court.

That one of the tanks was at the time filled to 40 per cent and the other two to 80 per cent was "significant,” McPhee added. These facts suggested they had been used at length, despite the lack of permit.

The gas inspector also noted the job site at the 40-year-old hotel was in an "unsafe condition” and the propane tanks lacked any protection, like metal fencing, against vehicle collisions, McPhee said.

The tanks were not set correctly on their I-beams and could have "racked,” falling like dominos had a collision

occurred, she told the court.

They were also improperly screwed into the beams.

While high-pressure fittings were required for the tanks, low-pressure fittings were used.

A stop-work order was issued on the spot.

Super Save officials later stated they thought the site's general contractor had already obtained a permit.

McPhee said the violations were typical of an attitude summed up as, "install first, get permission later.”

She said propane tank safety breaches could cause not only dangerous problems "for the individuals (on site), but problems (that) could vastly affect the communities in an adverse way.

"It's simply not a practice that can continue.”

McPhee noted that the process of obtaining a permit is relatively easy.

"It takes in the range of half an hour” and costs $100, she said.

"It's not an onerous process.”

On May 6, 2013, someone called the gas inspector's office and asked about getting a permit for a fuel dispenser — which requires a licensed gas fitter — for a location in Carmacks.

The following week, that same inspector was informed a dispenser had been installed at that address.

"But he knew no permit had been issued there,” McPhee said.

The same office that issues permits sends out inspectors.

An inspection two weeks later revealed Super Save was responsible for an unauthorized 1,000-gallon propane tank in addition to an electrical hookup carried out sans permit.

A fence around the tank was up, but not up to code specifications.

Both jobs received the gas permit go-ahead within a few months, following safety upgrades.

The judge accepted the two parties' joint submission of a $2,000 penalty — the maximum fine — for Super Save's

infractions at each of the two worksites.

The company has 60 days to pay the $4,000 total.

A third safety violation charge against the company was withdrawn.