Hamilton Community Center & Ice Arena has resumed operations after airing out the facility from a smoke scare and evacuation.
The center, 2501 Lincoln Park Drive, was evacuated at 1:01 p.m. Wednesday after Columbus Parks and Recreation Department employees discovered smoke in the facility’s basement, where the building’s electrical service and compressors are located.
Columbus firefighters determined there was a Freon leak from one of six large compressors in the center’s basement, creating a smoky mix of hydraulic oil and Freon which floated through the building as a white smoke.
Although no injuries were reported and activities resumed as normal Thursday morning, the center isn’t totally out of the woods yet in terms of the incident, according to Mark Jones, Columbus parks director.
The ice arena actually only needs three of the compressors to be operating to keep the rink operational, Jones said. Three are operating at any given time, and the other three are substituted in on a rotating basis so that all six last longer, he said.
However, one of the compressors blew its motor in Wednesday’s incident, causing a chain-reaction problem that damaged two others, he said.
That means the rink has no back-up for the equipment currently being used.
Jones said the parks department is working with its insurance company to replace the compressors, hopeful that the three compressors can handle operational needs until the damaged ones are replaced.
Four parks department employees were in the building and about 10 skaters were on the ice rink when the center was evacuated on Wednesday, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
When city of Columbus firefighters arrived, they discovered was a hissing sound which resembled a sprinkler activation, Wilson said. However, the basement is not sprinkler-equipped.
Using a thermal imaging camera, the firefighters scanned the basement utility area looking for the source of the smoke.
Parks facilities supervisor Travis Tindell told firefighters the center’s mechanical room contained the six large compressors, each one containing 70 pounds of Freon and well as hydraulic oil. Consulting with the mechanical contractor for the center, officials concluded the Freon had leaked in the basement, resulting in the white filmy smoke.
Firefighters spent about four hours at the scene as ventilation fans were used to remove smoke and gas from the basement. The center was then turned over to parks officials who worked through the night to clean up after the incident and have the center ready to reopen at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, Jones said.
No damage estimates are being released at this time.
Columbus Fire Department Battalion Chief Dan Cleland commended the parks workers for their quick action to evacuate the facility Wednesday and their efforts to account for everyone getting out safely.
“They had a plan in place and executed it flawlessly,” Cleland said.
