FERNIE, B.C. — The City of Fernie, B.C., shut down its operations Friday to give staff time to grieve the deaths of co-workers following an ammonia leak at the local ice rink.
The provincial coroners service said the men who died were Fernie residents Wayne Hornquist, 59, and Lloyd Smith, 52, and 46-year-old Jason Podloski of Turner Valley, Alta.
The city has said two of the men worked for the municipality. A spokesman for the parent company of refrigeration business CIMCO confirmed the third man worked for their Calgary branch.
B.C. Emergency Health Services said Smith was a part-time paramedic who was off-duty and working at his other job with the municipality when he died Tuesday.
Smith was also a senior instructor with the Alberta Association of Recreation Facility Personnel and its incoming board president, executive director Stuart Ray said Friday.
Ray called his friend of 10 years a “gentle soul” who was generous with his time.
“He’s a very intellectual individual. He’s very quiet and it takes a long time to get to know the man,” Ray said.
“But once you do, you find out that he’s a bit of a joker. He always has a kind word to say.”
Ray said Smith was adventurous and flew planes as a hobby.
Smith leaves behind a 12-year-old son, Ray said.
He was from High River, Alta., and lived in nearby Okotoks before taking the job three hours away in Fernie.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper’s wife, Laureen, tweeted Thursday night that Smith was a childhood friend who taught her how to drive a Zamboni at a rink in High River.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix issued a statement saying Smith started his career as a paramedic in the province in 1996 and was a friend and mentor to many.
A table with a notebook and a vase of red roses had been set up outside the Hornquist home.
A message on the front of the notebook thanked people for coming by.
“We truly appreciate your wish to reach out and offer us your support. Currently we need this time and hope that you can respect that. Please know that we are thinking of you in this difficult time as well.”
Authorities are trying to piece together a timeline leading up to the deadly incident.
Norm McInnis, Fernie’s city’s chief administrative officer, said an alarm went off at the arena around 4 a.m. Tuesday, prompting the municipality to shut down the rink and call in a specialist for emergency maintenance.
Shortly before 1 p.m., emergency crews responded to a 911 call and arrived to find someone providing CPR to a person outside the building. That person died.
“We all have questions as to what happened,” McInnis told reporters Thursday. “Something went terribly wrong.”
Fire Chief Ted Ruiter said response crews originally entered the facility Tuesday afternoon and discovered the remains of the other two victims, but left for safety reasons after performing an interior search. Emergency responders were able to re-enter the building and recover the bodies on Wednesday, Ruiter added.
Ammonia is commonly used in mechanical refrigeration systems, including those in ice rinks. It is used in liquid form but becomes a gas once it is released into the air.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety says ammonia is a colourless gas that is toxic if inhaled.
An evacuation order remained in effect Friday for homes and businesses around the arena while crews investigate whether there is any lingering danger, Ruiter said. The city says about 95 displaced residents are being put up in a hotel.
Local coffee shop Mugshots Cafe was offering free food and drinks to anyone who has been forced from their homes, owner Shauntelle Nelson said.
“It was a pretty sudden thing and nobody had time to take anything with them,” she said.
“It’s a small, tight-knit community so it was just a no-brainer to just kind of offer a place for people to hang out.”
She said the whole community is rallying to support first responders and those who have been displaced.
“That’s what Fernie is. That’s what Fernie does.”