B.C. community closes in mourning of three men who died in ice arena
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.