The City Of Airdrie says they followed all procedures on Saturday (February 3) after an ammonia leak was found at the Twin Arenas at Genesis Place

Manager of Genesis Place Greg Lockert says the facility handled the situation quickly and efficiently.

"The arena was designed with an early detection system for ammonia. It worked out perfectly. Our staff then followed our procedures and evacuated the building."

Lockert says that they take matters like ammonia leaks very seriously, especially after the tragedy at an arena in Fernie, B.C. late last year. Three workers lost their lives at a Fernie arena after ammonia leaked into the facility, forcing it to close.

"This is a heightened thing right now with the tragedy that happened in Fernie. Part of this is that OHS was out a couple weeks ago and they did a system check on our arenas. We passed that no problem."

You may be wondering why ammonia is even present in skating arenas? Lockert says he's no professional on the subject but was able to share those details.

"The ammonia is used to cool the brine that runs through the system which causes the floor to chill the ice. The brine runs through tubes inside of a chiller, the ammonia is inside of that and it just chills down the brine to the proper temperature "

The leak was found and quickly contained and the arenas were back up and running by Saturday afternoon.

 

READ MORE:

RCMP Confirm That Ammonia Leak Did Happen At Genesis Place

 

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