Unexpected ammonia release at Fernie Memorial Arena caused death of three workers

WorkSafeBC is mandated by legislation to investigate workplace incidents. The primary purpose of WorkSafeBC’s incident investigation reports is to identify the cause of the incident, including contributing factors, so that similar incidents can be prevented from happening in the future.

Date of incident: October 2017
Notice of incident number: 2017160530032
Employers: City of Fernie, Toromont Industries Ltd. (CIMCO Refrigeration)


Incident summary:
At the Fernie Memorial Arena, workers were performing maintenance on the ice plant when there was a release of ammonia gas. Three workers were fatally injured from exposure to the ammonia.

Download the redacted incident investigation report to learn more about the investigation’s findings and conclusions. You can also request the appendixes to this report.

Related information:

Publication Date: Aug 2018 File type: PDF (5 MB) Asset type: Incident Investigation Report Summary NI number: 2017160530032