Evacuation order still in place following Fernie ice rink tragedy

FERNIE (NEWS 1130) – The bodies of three men have been removed from an ice arena after a deadly ammonia leak on Tuesday led to a local state of emergency in Fernie.

Fire Chief Ted Ruiter says the bodies were recovered around 11 p.m. yesterday and work is underway to better understand what went wrong.

Fernie chief administrative officer Norm McInnis says officials are piecing together a timeline to better understand what led to the deadly incident.

“We all have questions as to what happened. We know at approximately 4 a.m. on Tuesday, October 17th, an alarm went off at the arena. In the hours that followed, calls were made to close the arena for emergency repairs and a specialist was called in to assist.”

Emergency crews responded shortly before 1 p.m. to a 911 call and arrived at the Fernie Memorial Arena to find someone providing CPR to one person.

An evacuation order remains in place for residents living around the arena while crews investigate whether there is any lingering danger.

“Getting the evacuated residents home remains our top priority,” says Ruiter. “However, we need to make sure that we get them home safely. The first step will be getting a good understanding of what we’re dealing with. Once that piece is in place, we will have a better idea of the timeline of the evacuation order.”

Two of the men who died were city employees, and McInnis says the municipality will shut down its operations Friday to give staff time to grieve. A third man worked out of the Calgary office of the refirgeration company CIMCO.

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