Rink and curling club operators were invited to take part in one of three special ammonia and Freon safety training courses in P.E.I. this week.

The half-day course demonstrated things like how to keep the machinery running smoothly, proper facility safety measures and how to handle emergencies, such as an ammonia or Freon leak. The training was prompted, in part, by two leaks in Canada last year — a deadly ammonia leak in Fernie, B.C., in October and one at the Pownal Sports Centre in P.E.I. last April, which prompted the evacuation of the facility.

An ammonia warning sign posted in an arena warns people to evacuate if the blue light is flashing. (David Horemans/CBC)

The Montague Curling Club is one of the ice surfaces in the province using Freon.

“I’ve been there for 17 years, I know how to shut her down if I had to and I know what numbers to call,” said Larry Richards, manager of the club.

He was interested to learn about the different safety measures and protocols they had not implemented yet. He plans to take the new information to the board meeting next week to get the necessary changes done.

“Safety first, safety is the main thing,” Richards said. “People are more aware of safety these days, things are happening around this.”

Click for the full story at CBC PEI.