Fernie looks for answers to ammonia ‘nightmare’

The mayor of a small Kootenay city is calling for her community to pull together as it struggles to make sense of the deaths of three people Tuesday following an ammonia leak at a local ice rink.

On Tuesday around 1 p.m., firefighters in Fernie responded to a call for medical help following the leak, fire chief Ted Ruiter said Wednesday.

When crews arrived at the Fernie Memorial Arena, they found a person performing CPR on a victim of the suspected leak, who was then relocated and tended to by paramedics.

Firefighters then entered the arena and found two more victims, but had to exit the building because of the hazardous environment, Ruiter said.

“Yesterday was an extremely difficult day for us here in Fernie,” Ruiter said.

He identified a chemical present at the scene as anhydrous ammonia, a colourless gas with pungent, suffocating fumes commonly used in refrigeration systems in arenas.

The leak forced the evacuation of an entire city block, after which displaced residents were moved to a reception centre.

The RCMP is investigating whether there was a criminal element to the leak and canvassing witnesses for more information.

On Wednesday morning, crews from across B.C. and Alberta arrived at the scene, including WorkSafeBC, a HAZMAT team from Calgary and the Ministry of Environment and Interior Health, Ruiter said.

Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano extended condolences on behalf of the city to the families involved, and confirmed that two of the three people who died were locals, among just over 5,000 residents of the city.

She requested the media and public respect the wishes of the families that the names of those who died not be released.

“Fernie is a tight-knit community and I know we will pull together to support one another, as we have in the past,” Giuliano said.

She said the city is arranging support for the affected families and workers during their time of grief.

Paul Jewer, executive vice-president for Toromont, the parent company of CIMCO Refrigeration, said while few details were available about the incident, he could confirm one of CIMCO Calgary’s employees was among those who died. Jewer read from a prepared statement, saying CIMCO staff were in Fernie assisting as needed and the firm’s safety manager was on the way as RCMP and local officials investigate.

“In the meantime, we are focused on the well-being of all those affected,” Jewer said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the team.”

Jason Amesbury, president of the United Association of Canada Local 516 in B.C., which represents refrigeration workers, confirmed one of the victims was a member of UA Local 488 in Alberta.

Reading from a prepared statement, Amesbury said the local’s “hearts and thoughts” were with the families of those who died.

“The refrigeration trade is a specialized trade and a relatively small industry, an event like this deeply affects us all,” Amesbury said.

According to the Fernie Free Press, to work at the arena, each crew member must have a refrigeration ticket, received after completing the B.C. Power Boilers Operators Certificate.

“We will be looking into this situation and hope to learn all we can to ensure that future accidents like this become preventable. We all must work together extra hard to make sure that all workplace accidents are prevented.”

Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, released a statement saying the federation’s thoughts and prayers were with the family, friends and communities where the workers lived.

Lanzinger said she expects WorkSafeBC to carry out a thorough investigation to find the cause of the leak and why safety measures didn’t prevent the deaths, while the RCMP investigates whether criminal negligence was involved.

“In our view, every workplace accident and death is preventable,” she said.

“The health and safety of workers must be paramount at every workplace. And if health and safety regulatory requirements are ignored or poorly implemented, there must be serious, even criminal, consequences.”

Premer John Horgan paid tribute to the victims of the Fernie incident.

“Three people went to work and they didn’t come home,” Horgan said in the B.C. legislature.

“The worst nightmare for any family is to have a loved one go to work and not be there for dinner. This is a tragedy not only for those families, not only for the community of Fernie, but for all of British Columbia.”

Horgan said the coroner, RCMP and WorkSafeBC will seek answers to ensure the tragedy is not repeated.

“Tragedy is only a heartbeat away for all of us and all of our constituents,” he told the house.

Kootenay East Liberal MLA Tom Shypitka, who represents Fernie, left Victoria to travel back to his constituency in response to the deaths.

Neighbouring MLA from Columbia River-Revelstoke, Doug Clovechok, spoke in his place at the legislature, saying the entire region is grieving.

“No words can express the profound sadness and pain that comes with such a sudden loss of a loved one,” he said.

“We all wake up and go to work in the morning with the assumption we’ll return to our families at the end of the day, but it’s incidents like this that reminds us life is so precarious, so precious and we should not take for granted the blessings of life.”