Old equipment caused fatal arena leak: expert

Old equipment that was used for seven years after a contractor recommended it be replaced caused the deadly ammonia leak at an ice rink in Fernie in October, says an organization that oversees safety of refrigeration systems in B.C.

Jeff Coleman, director of risk and safety knowledge for Technical Safety B.C., said Wednesday that the city scheduled funding to replace a chiller system in 2013 but it was deferred to 2014 and subsequently dropped from budget plans.

He said ammonia was used to chill liquid at the Fernie Memorial Arena and traces of the gas were found in the liquid as early as the summer of 2017, indicating a leak inside the chiller.

But the equipment was put back into operation on Oct. 16, the day before the leak of the colourless gas killed three men.

Coleman said corrosion along a seam in one tube of the chiller had caused a tiny hole, allowing pressurized ammonia to seep into the liquid, then bursting the pipe and venting large amounts of the deadly gas.

“Once the leaking chiller returned to operation, additional actions and decisions associated with the shutdown configuration were a response to cascading failures beyond the scope of training and situational understanding of those involved,” he told a news conference.

“While the equipment failures originated from a small hole in a chiller tube, Technical Safety B.C. concluded that the cause of the incident was the decision to operate the leaking chiller.”

The release of ammonia triggered an alarm in the arena’s mechanical room at about 4 a.m. on Oct. 17.

City of Fernie employees Wayne Hornquist and Lloyd Smith, and refrigeration contractor Jason Podloski of Turner Valley, Alta., died in the room while attempting emergency maintenance work.

Coleman said the ventilation system could not have prevented the extremely high levels of ammonia from accumulating since the gas was released so quickly.

Technical Safety B.C. has made 18 recommendations related to management, maintenance, training and operation related to refrigeration systems to prevent similar situations.

The City of Fernie said it was operating with an approved certification for its cooling system at the time of the leak and its employees were appropriately trained.