The death of three people at an ice area in Fernie is a “real tragedy”, says Ernie Mansueti.
Mansueti, North Cowichan’s director of parks and recreation, said the deaths at Fernie Memorial Arena on Tuesday afternoon which were apparently caused by an ammonia leak hit the local sports and recreation community “very hard”.
“Fernie (located in southeast B.C.) is a small community with close ties and everyone there is working hard to try to find out exactly what happened,” Mansueti said.
“But we have don’t have similar concerns with the arenas here. We have updated ice plants and licensed mechanics to work on them.”
None of the dead in Fernie have been identified yet, at the request of their families.
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A statement from Fernie’s fire chief Ted Ruiter said Wednesday that anhydrous ammonia, a noxious gas, is responsible for the three deaths.
Ammonia is commonly used in mechanical refrigeration systems, including those found in ice rinks.
When first responders arrived on the scene Tuesday, they unsuccessfully performed CPR on one victim, and the other two victims were found already dead inside the arena.
A statement from CIMCO Refrigeration, which supplies cooling systems to ice rinks, said the company was unable to provide any details about the tragedy at this time.
Mansueti said, like the majority of ice rinks across Canada, those in the Cowichan Valley use ammonia in their mechanical refrigeration systems.
But well-maintained equipment and qualified staff ensure all the systems work properly.
“In my many years working in recreation, I can’t recall another incident in which people died as a result of an ammonia leak,” he said.
“There was an incident in the Lower Mainland a few years ago in which a risk had to be evacuated, but there were no deaths as a result.”
Mansueti said it may take some time before the official cause of the leak in Fernie will be released.
“I expect WorkSafeBC and the province will want to conduct thorough investigations of this incident,” he said.
Fernie has declared a seven-day local state of emergency as a result of the tragedy, and numerous homes in the downtown area were evacuated Tuesday afternoon.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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