A coroner's inquest into the death of Eric Leighton begins today.

The 18-year-old student died almost three years ago in an explosion during shop class .

A jury will hear from 14 witnesses over a two week period.

One of those witnesses is expected to be Scott Day, the teacher who was in the room when the explosion happened.

The jury may make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.

Leighton was a student at Barrhaven's Mother Teresa High School in May 2011 when he was cutting into an oil barrel to build a barbecue, when a spark set off an explosion.

Leighton died from head injuries.  Several of his fellow students and his teacher were also injured.