Arena burns to ground, Zamboni saved
PERDUE — The first time Larry Urick drove a Zamboni wasn’t between the second and third period, it was fleeing from a flaming hockey arena.
On Saturday afternoon, the hockey rink in Perdue, Sask. burnt to the ground. The Zamboni was the only piece salvaged from the flames. Volunteer fire fighters pulled the Zamboni away from the burning rink.
The fire chief then directed Urick to take it away from the blaze after discovering a propane leak. He drove it on the gravel road to his property, approximately 750 metres away.
The small town is home to almost 400 people. Larry and his wife Colleen have lived in Perdue for over thirty years. Their children learned how to skate at the arena, and played hockey there through to the senior level.
Colleen was in their shop Saturday afternoon when she heard a noise.
“I heard a whoosh, so I looked out and there was black smoke coming out of all four vents. I knew there was no saving it.”
She was one of the many people who called 911.
“You never believe it’s going to happen to you,” Larry said. “But we’re a small community so we all came together to help.”
He said farmers left their fields to help and people dug holes by hand to get to the natural gas line so they could shut it off.
Annaleigh Fischer and her family live in the Kinley area, nine minutes from Perdue. Kash, her four-yearold son, learned to skate and play hockey at the rink as well. He’s not in school yet, so it was where he met all of his friends. She said he became quite attached to it.
“He was really bummed out. He saw the burnt rink and said ‘mom, I can’t play hockey here anymore’. It makes your heart break even more,” Fischer said.
The fire has devastated the community, she said adding that the rink was the heart of the town.
Fischer hopes the town can find a way to rebuild, but even a rebuild won’t bring back the years of memories now lost.
Perdue Mayor Dave Miller was sitting on his driveway when he heard what sounded like a jet engine overhead.
“You could just hear it roar. It all caught at once,” he said, adding that he when he went to look all he saw was black smoke pouring out of the rink.
Miller said the loss was a real tragedy, especially because the arena was built and run by volunteer efforts.
The rink had natural ice and a concession. Perdue is about 40 minutes west of Saskatoon. The cause is still undetermined and the damage estimate is unknown.
“HE WAS REALLY BUMMED OUT. HE SAW THE BURNT RINK AND SAID ‘MOM, I CAN’T PLAY HOCKEY HERE ANYMORE’.”
ANNALEIGH FISCHER