INDOOR AIR QUALITY ALERT - ORFA Identifies Facility Management as the Root Cause of Ice Rink Air Quality Issues

September 10, 2026

For more than 50 years, ORFA and other provincial and territorial recreation associations have promoted self-governance to reduce or eliminate toxic indoor air in recreation facilities. When an incident occurs in an ice arena, media reports often attribute the cause to faulty fossil-fuel-powered equipment. In many cases, however, the underlying cause is inadequate maintenance, adjustment, or inspection. [More]

Toxic indoor air incidents should be largely preventable when facility managers understand the risks, train staff in awareness and response, follow manufacturers’ inspection and maintenance recommendations, maintain an ongoing air-testing program, and proactively replace aging equipment before performance declines. Senior administrators must support these measures or risk being identified as contributing to any incident that affects workers or facility users.

Anyone concerned about toxic indoor air can assess a facility’s risk by asking staff these questions:

1. Are staff trained to recognize and respond to indoor ice arena air-quality risks?
2. Does the facility maintain an active air-testing program?
3. Is all fossil-fuel-powered equipment used indoors regularly serviced by a qualified technician?

Guidance on this issue is readily available. As facilities age, today’s facility managers must lead proactive efforts to protect indoor air quality.

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