KAMLOOPS — This week has been deemed Arena Safety Week by the City of Kamloops.
It’s an opportunity for staff at all of the city’s rinks to refresh their safety training.
Thousands of Kamloops residents enjoy spending time at the city’s arenas every year, whether it’s as a spectator or athlete.
Rarely do people feel unsafe in these facilities, unaware of the safety measures going on behind the scenes.
“We’re very fortunate,” said Jeff Putnam, civic facilities manager for the City of Kamloops. “We’ve got extremely competent, experienced, knowledgeable staff. So there certainly isn’t any concerns or issues. We’re always keeping our chilling equipment, ammonia equipment all up to date and current, and every summer we invest in the ice plants in each of our rinks.”
The City of Kamloops is celebrating these safety initiatives during Arena Safety Week.
Throughout the week, arena staff are participating in training exercises, specifically around ammonia leaks in light of the 2017 leak at a facility in Fernie, B.C. that killed three workers.
“For each rink we’re going through mock evacuation drills with our staff, working with the fire department on if there was a small leak in a specific arena, kind of practicing between our staff and emergency responders and how we would safely evacuate the building,” Putnam said.
Everyone who enters the ice plant must wear the appropriate safety gear, and ammonia levels are carefully monitored.
“If it goes up to 25 parts per million then what happens is that big fan goes off to exhaust the room to atmosphere,” said Francois Chasse, Arena Operations Supervisor.
During a small ammonia leak at the McArthur Island Sports Centre two years ago, that fan prevented the toxic gas from spreading to other areas of the building.
Ammonia is used to cool every rink in Kamloops.
“Anhydrous ammonia is actually the most efficient refrigerant and it’s used in large commercial freezers and refrigeration operations,” Putnam said. “Most, I would say 80 to 90 per cent of all rinks in Canada use ammonia and if you maintain your equipment and you operate it the way you’re supposed to, it’s very safe and easy to work with.”
The city will end Arena Safety Week with a free public skate at the McArthur Island NHL Rink Friday morning.
