Details emerge in B.C. ammonia leak deaths

Mayor says workers were doing maintenance when killed at Fernie hockey rink

Three people who died after a suspected ammonia leak were doing maintenance work on ice-making equipment at an arena in southeastern British Columbia, says the city’s mayor. Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano said Wednesday the city is not identifying those who died in order to respect the wishes of their families, but described two of them as local residents and the third as an out-of-town contractor.

A state of emergency remained in effect following the leak, which was first reported at the Fernie Memorial Arena on Tuesday.

“Fernie is a tight-knit community and I know we’ll pull together to support one another as we have in the past,” Giuliano told a news conference.

“Sadly, we lost three people yesterday, two of whom were part of the City of Fernie family.” About 60 people living near the arena have been asked to leave the area as a precautionary measure, Giuliano said. On Facebook, the city said Tuesday the arena was closed for “emergency maintenance” before it confirmed later in the day that there had been three fatalities.

Fire Chief Ted Ruiter said crews responded shortly before 1 p.m. on Tuesday to reports of an ammonia leak at the arena and arrived to find someone performing CPR on a person.

Crews then entered the facility and found two other victims, he said. After performing an “interior search,” Ruiter said they had to leave the building for safety reasons.