Newington Ice Arena Evacuated After Zamboni Causes Dangerous CO Buildup

NEWINGTON, CT — A popular ice rink in Newington experienced some tense moments Saturday night when a carbon monoxide buildup in theNewington Ice Arena caused an immediate evacuation.

According to the Newington Volunteer Fire Department, the situation at the Alumni Road arena was classified as a "CO incident."

CO is a poisonous gas that can cause illness and death if not rectified in time.

As firefighters rushed to the scene, mutual aid partners covered for the rest of the town, and folks were urged to avoid the arena.

After some investigating, the NVFD said crews from Connecticut Natural Gas discovered a faulty HVAC unit that failed, resulting in the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine creating a CO buildup there.

The NVFD said its crews were able to leave the site, and the arena owners worked "to mitigate these issues."

According to the Newington Ice Arena owners, the situation was remedied, and they were expected to reopen Sunday, Feb. 8.

"We had an unfortunate incident tonight at our rink. The issue has thankfully been fixed, and we are working closely with officials to determine exactly what caused this to happen," wrote the arena in a statement.

"We are so grateful to the emergency response teams and Connecticut Natural Gas for the quick response. Officials have given us the all clear to safely reopen in the morning."

Opened in 1997, the Newington Ice Arena is a 77,000 square-foot facility featuring two NHL-sized ice rinks, currently owned by Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. as of December 2022.

It serves as a hub for local hockey, hosting the Connecticut Chiefs and various high school teams, along with other businesses like Arena Golf and Future Fitness.