Ice Resurfacer On Fire in Rochester, New York

An ice resurfacer caught on fire on October 14,2020 at Bill Gray’s Regional IcePlex in Rochester.  First, let’s make sure to note that nobody was hurt in what turned out to be a rather dramatic spectacle.

We wonder how something like this could happen to an ice resurfacer, and while it is a safe and rugged piece of equipment, anything with a lot of moving parts can fail.  It turns out a hose carrying hydraulic fluid on the machine broke and leaked fluid onto both the motor and the exhaust pipe.

It’s not hard to imagine what happened from there. It looks more dramatic than it actually was and Zamboni Driver, Jordan Curtis, was able to drive the machine off the ice and put out the flames.

No doubt the key here was that Curtis was an experienced operator and there was not a lot of action on the ice at the time.  A bit of panic could be heard from the stands but again nobody was hurt.

However, the situation could have turned out tragic and that’s why preparedness is key.  We cannot state enough how important equipment maintenance and employee training are to the success and safety of ice rinks.

The fire that is virally making its way around the internet serves a deeper purpose for industry professionals.  It’s rare to see something like this to occur but we train for a reason.

Industrial Frigo Ice USA would like to remind everyone that the US Ice Rink Association offers an online ice resurfacer maintenance and training course for drivers.  The class covers manufacturers’ recommendations and industry best practices for operating an ice resurfacer safely and we highly recommend it.