TYNE VALLEY, P.E.I. — Despite testing that confirmed good air quality had been restored at the Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre, the facility’s board of directors and management have decided to conduct a thorough examination of all of its equipment before re-opening.
The rink was closed Monday morning after several rec hockey players who were in the building the night before reported shortness of breath, coughing and headaches.
Subsequently, management learned that minor hockey players and parents who were in the building Sunday afternoon and evening were also experiencing health issues. Several people reported to emergency departments but did not require hospitalization.
Assistant manager of the arena, Adam MacLennan, was one of the rec hockey players who sought medical attention.
MacLennan is relieved by the clean air result, but he said extra steps are being taken as a precaution. “We’re looking over everything now; we just want to make sure everything is functioning as it should,” he said, indicating the rink will remain closed to the public at least until Thursday evening.
Efficiency tests performed on the furnace and boiler Wednesday morning also generated good results.
“Everything that we’re doing now is just a second or a third check, going over everything, making sure everything is working well.”
-Adam MacLennan
“We’re doing some work that is probably going to help us down the road and help us avoid any issues in the future,” he said. That work includes installing additional carbon monoxide detectors in the building and shifting some of the hot water heating from oil to electric.
“We don’t want to open the rink again and there potentially be another issue down the road; we want to make sure everything from our exhaust fan in the ceiling to our ventilation at the back of the rink to our dehumidifier, to… We want to make sure everything is working up to par, where it should be before we open up the rink again for people to use.”
MacLennan said he was already in touch with provincial officials while en route to the hospital Monday morning, and once they were involved the rink was like an emergency scene with its control in the hands of the provincial officials as to what to look for and how to take charge.
The financial implications of the shutdown and the remedial actions, MacLennan said, are “only in the back of our minds now. We’ll worry about that later.”
The immediate goal is to make sure the facility is safe so that they can reassure the public of that and get them back in the building and on the ice.
“Everything that we’re doing now is just a second or a third check, going over everything, making sure everything is working well.”
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