PHOTO COURTESY TOWN OF TABER
An explosion at the Taber Community Centre on Wednesday has closed the large and small ice arenas, the Curling Club as well as leased spaces. No one was injured in the blast and the cause is still under investigation.
While there were no injuries when a large explosion rocked the interior of the Taber Community Centre on Wednesday afternoon, pure luck appears to have been a significant factor in that positive outcome.
At approximately 4 p.m. on Dec. 17, an explosion occurred at the Taber Community Centre while staff and members of the public were inside the building. Emergency procedures were activated immediately, and the building was evacuated as a precaution. All staff and patrons were accounted for, and no injuries have been reported.
“The force of the explosion caused extensive damage within the arena and the curling club,” said Steve Munshaw, chief of the Taber Fire Department, during a press conference Thursday morning. “As a result of the explosion, interior walls were displaced. Large doors were blown out of their jams and frames, glass shattered and concrete block walls were cracked. Debris was spread throughout the affected areas, and damage to the arena roof also occurred. Damage to gas lines was also identified.”
Investigators have confirmed that the explosion occurred in the area of the Small Ice Arena Zamboni room, causing substantial damage within the arena and curling rink areas, and detailed damage assessments are underway. As part of emergency response procedures, the ammonia plant was safely isolated and is not a cause for concern.
“There is no ongoing risk to public,” confirmed Munshaw. “Specialized contractors are now removing the ammonia from the system in the arena as a precaution. At this stage, crews and investigation are focused on detailing structural, mechanical and safety assessments. Given the nature of the extent of the damage, these assessments will take time, and we do not have a definitive timeline for when those will be completed.”
Following the explosion, a secondary, localized fire occurred. Emergency crews extinguished the fire quickly, and it remained contained to the equipment involved.
“A small localized fire occurred involving the Zamboni,” said Munshaw. “That fire was quickly extinguished by responding fire crews and remained contained to the equipment, it did not spread beyond that area.”
Munshaw said it was a “miracle” that no one was injured in the blast, admitting he hadn’t seen anything like it in his 31 years in the business.
“So what I can confirm is there was a dozen people within the facility, but they were far enough away from the blast that nobody was injured at that time. So we have had no reported injuries for anyone. It’s miraculous – a miracle nobody was in this building at that time. It (was) a transition between programming events and between those times – that’s when this happened. Such a miracle that within 10 minutes of that time that nobody else was in there.”
Early inspections show widespread physical damage in impacted areas of the Community Centre, including interior walls shifted from their original positions, extensive glass breakage, large doors forced out, cracked concrete block walls and debris, damage to gas lines and water intrusion, with water service shut down as a precaution.
“Our priority from the outset was public safety,” said Taber Police Service inspector Dave Gyepesi. “Officers assisted with evacuations, helped secure the area and worked closely with the fire crews, utility providers and town staff to support the response. Members of the public followed directions, evacuated calmly, and kept a safe distance from the site. This cooperation made a meaningful difference in allowing emergency crews to do the work safely and efficiently following the initial response. Taber Police Service assisted in establishing road closures and securing the building in the surrounding areas. The site remains restricted and secure, and we ask that the public continue to stay away from the affected areas while the investigations and assessments are ongoing. We also want to thank residents for continuing to respect those closures and for not attempting to access the facility. Maintaining a secure site is important for public safety and for the investigation and for the integrity of the investigation.”
Gyepesi went on to confirm that the incident appears to have been an accident and no criminal investigation has been initiated.
“Based on the witness statements, the video and everything that we reviewed at this time, there’s no indication that there’s any criminal element to this.”
Because of the level of damage and the scope of inspections required, the affected portions of the facility will remain unusable for a prolonged period.
“From the town’s perspective, our focus right now is on two priorities,” said Town of Taber CAO Derrin Thibault. The first is supporting our staff who are directly affected and are now managing a significant operational disruption. The second is working with qualified experts to fully assess the damage to the community centre. The community centre is a heavily used facility, particularly for hockey, skating, curling and other recreation programs. We know families, teams and user groups are understandably concerned about what this means for the rest of the season and what happens next with the damaged facility. At this stage, we do not yet know when or if the ice surfaces or curling rink will be usable for the remainder of the season. Those determinations depend entirely on the results of ongoing structural, mechanical and safety assessments. Until that work is complete, recreation staff cannot confirm programming plans. We do not yet have timelines for when those assessments will be completed. The town is now in the recovery phase – that includes detailed inspections and reviews by investigators, insurance adjusters and building inspectors. The steps are necessary before decisions can be made about repairs, timelines and long term options. Over the coming weeks and months, council will need to consider the findings of those assessments, including the potential scope and cost of repairs for other long term options, those discussions will be guided by safety experts and advisors.”
Parts of the Taber Community Centre complex are unaffected and have been reopened to the public including the Aquafun Centre (unaffected and operating on its regular schedule) Auditorium (available for use, subject to continued safety reviews), however the Large and Small Ice Arenas, Curling Club and leased spaces are closed until further notice.
“The building matters to the community, and the people want to know what comes next,” continued Thibault. “Right now, we can only share information once it’s confirmed and once we are allowed to share. That means there may be times when there isn’t much new information to provide, I know that can be frustrating. What the town can promise is that we will keep communicating when we have information we’re able to share, we will share it until then. Important work is happening behind the scenes by investigators, inspectors and insurance specialists to make sure decisions are made carefully and safely. This will not be a quick fix. The town is committed to doing this the right way and keeping residents informed throughout the process. I want to thank residents for their patience as we move through this, and I want to begin to thank our emergency responders and town staff for their professionalism and care they’ve shown in a very difficult situation.”
At this time, recreation staff cannot confirm what skating, hockey, curling, or other ice-based programming or rentals will look like moving forward. Decisions will depend on the results of ongoing damage assessments and when spaces can be safely accessed. Updates on programming will be shared once more information is available.
“So we’ve got quite a few user groups in that building,” said Thibault. “People affected will be the museum, Chamber of Commerce, we’ve got weightlifting, we’ve got archery, obviously the auditorium and rink, small ice and large ice at this point in time, every single one of those are affected, until we know what it is that we can do with the building. I know some of the user groups have already reached out to neighbouring communities. We will be doing the same and trying to work with our different community groups and other communities. Groups and other communities have reached out to us already to start those conversations.”
As for the cause of the potential cause of the explosion, Munshaw was tight-lipped as investigations continue.
“Sorry, we’re still under the investigation stage. We’re just into the first morning of the investigation. I have crews on site at this time, and secondary crews are coming in, the insurance companies as well. We’ll be meeting this afternoon. What I can tell you at this point in time is the area of origin was the (Zamboni) room, but I cannot extend farther than that. As our investigation crews continue, we will be able to identify that in a future conversation, but at this time, we can’t.”
