Last Sunday, The Current reported on the closing of the Paul J. Yakabuski Community Centre following detection of a Carbon Monoxide (CO) leak. At yesterday morning’s Madawaska Valley Council in Committee meeting, CAO Suzanne Klatt presented a report about the incident. This stated that in the late afternoon of February 1, 42 children were taken to a number of regional hospitals and health centres feeling extremely ill with what was subsequently confirmed to be CO poisoning. Fortunately there were no serious injuries and everyone was released from hospital following emergency treatment. Klatt reported that after an investigation, the arena’s ice resurfacer machine “was deemed to be the main cause of the high levels of carbon monoxide.” This is now being repaired and the arena is expected to reopen today.
Klatt’s report included a detailed chronology of events starting with the minor hockey tournament at the arena from 7 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 1. This was followed by an ice rental that ended at 7:30 p.m. Incident reports from the Facilities Manager, and the Recreation & Community Development Coordinator between 5:45 p.m. and 9:42 p.m. resulted in attendances by the Fire Chief, Chief Building Officer and Facilities Manager. During the evening CO levels in the facility were tested and at 12:30 a.m. the CAO, Mayor and Recreation & Community Development Coordinator attended at St. Francis Memorial Hospital to discuss appropriate messaging with the Emergency Doctor which was posted by the Deputy Clerk around 2:00 a.m. Sunday February 2.
Mayor Love acknowledged the positive communications role played by Barry’s Bay and Area Minor Hockey Association which had posted a social media notice at 10 p.m. on Saturday. She explained the Township could not post its own notice until it had received all relevant test readings and medical advice.
The municipality reported the incident to the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) which imonitored the situation. Klatt added a verbal note to her report that battery-operated CO detectors were installed at the facility on Saturday night and that the municipality planned to also install hard-wired alarms. Fire Chief Corwin Quade explained to Council that because the arena does not include sleeping quarters, CO alarms were not mandated.
Testing by the Technical Safety Standards Authority (TSSA), municipal staff and relevant technicians continued throughout Sunday and Monday, focussing on propane lines and heaters, ventilation, and the Olympic Ice Resurfacer which was deemed to be the main cause of the high CO levels. Municipal staff have implemented annual service procedures each fall for this machine as well as the back-up equipment in Combermere. The municipality aims to reopen the facility on Wednesday February 5 once all consent documentation is received.
photo Sharon Gardiner
Editor’s Note: In this report published on February 5 2020, The Current referred to the ice resurfacer at the Paul J. Yakabuski Community Centre as a “Zamboni” in both the headline and text. Although the equipment was described in the article itself as an “Olympic Ice Resurfacer (Zamboni),” it has been drawn to The Current’s attention that describing it as a “Zamboni” is incorrect as that is the brand name of resurfacing equipment made by a different manufacturer. The Current understands that it is common for members of the public to describe all such ice resurfacers, and the generic use of the brand name is confirmed in an email to Madawaska Valley from Zamboni. The Current is happy to make this correction for the record and regrets any confusion this error may have caused.
So sorry to hear and I hope that everyone is feeling better now.