The victims of Tuesday's deadly ammonia leak in B.C. have been identified. The three men died after being exposed to the deadly fumes at a municipal ice rink.
There have been leaks here in the Ottawa Gatineau area as recently as last year, fortunately with no injuries. According to the city of Ottawa, ammonia is used at all city arenas. But not nearly to the same extent it used to be in older arenas.
Still, the concern is real one leak last year in Gatineau resulted in an evacuation.
It’s a pick up hockey game on a Friday afternoon at the Jean Paul Sabourin arena in Gatineau. It's here in January of last year that an ammonia leak forced the evacuation of this arena.
John Seguin and his team the Lumberjacks were here that day.
“When we got here, the building was closed and we weren't sure what was going on,” he recalls.
No one was injured, but the potential is clearly there. In Fernie, B.C. this week, 3 men died after an ammonia leak at a municipal hockey rink.
“It's really hitting home when you hear 3 fatalities and I knew two of them,” says a man outside the arena, where bouquets of flowers are laid in memory of those workers.
Closer to home, two people were sent to hospital six years ago after a leak at what was then called Scotiabank Place.
“It's been a standard application to use ammonia,” says Scott McKibbon, a mechanical engineer who is at the Jean Paul Sabourin arena to play hockey as well today, “but like most things, there are inherent risks of choosing ammonia and one is that is that it's caustic, somewhat toxic and you don't know you're in it until you're in it.”
Ammonia is used in all Ottawa arenas but no longer to cool the ice. It's only used to cool compressors now and the city says there are emergency systems in place to detect leaks.
"With the detection of any leak, exhaust fans to the outside are activated", The General Manager of Recreation, Dan Chenier said in an email, "and both visual and sound alarms are activated. Systems are also equipped with emergency shot off switches.”
With ammonia prevalent in more than 2000 rinks in Canada, there is a move afoot to get rid of it.
Lou Roussinos is a retired safety inspector in B.C.
“It is considered to be the most dangerous gas for the purpose of refrigeration.”
That fight, though, isn't on the minds of the Lumberbacks in Gatineau today, though.
“We come to play hockey,” says Luc Chenier, “jump on the ice play a game and go home.”