Efforts are being made to repair an equipment problem at the Olds curling rink "similar" to the one that killed three people in Fernie, B.C. , director of operations Scott Chant says.
It's hoped repairs will be completed by Nov. 19.
In August, as workers were getting the facility ready to make ice for the curling season, it was discovered that the curling rink chiller had "an internal leak which caused contamination of the brine with the ammonia," Chant said in an email to the Albertan.
The chiller was then inspected.
"At that time it was noted that the tubes inside the chiller had corroded to a point it was leaking," Chant wrote.
"Yes, this was a similar issue in Fernie," he added.
"It was noted by the company that works on these units that it was not in the best interest to have it patched or a temporary fix. This resulted in the town having to order a new chiller to replace the failed unit," Chant wrote.
Chant said it's hoped the new chiller will be delivered by Nov. 2.
"It takes some time to install this unit, test and then put into operation. At this time we are hoping to have everything up and running by Nov. 19," he wrote.
The three workers in Fernie died as a result of an ammonia leak at an ice rink in October 2017.
This past July, Jeff Coleman, director of risk and safety knowledge for Technical Safety BC, said a contractor had recommended that old equipment at the Fernie Memorial Arena be replaced, but it continued to be used for seven years.
Coleman said the City of Fernie had allocated funding to replace the chilller system in 2013, but that was postponed to 2014 then dropped from planned budgetary spending.
