An Alberta hotel is defending its response to a scary incident in Canmore over the weekend that resulted in about a dozen children being rushed to hospital after they fell ill following a swim in the hotel’s pool.
The incident happened Sunday morning at the Canmore Inn and Suites located in the town of Canmore, about 100 km west of Calgary.
Alberta’s Emergency Health Services said multiple ambulances and paramedics responded to the hotel around 11 a.m., prompting health officials to declare a “mass casualty incident.”
When emergency crews arrived they found about 30 children exhibiting symptoms of illness, such as vomiting.
While the declaration of a “mass casualty incident” was cancelled, 10 children required treatment by paramedics and their parents were advised to take them to the hospital in Canmore for further treatment.
Jennifer Stevenson, the parent of one child, told Global News, that once they arrived at the hospital, her son was put on oxygen for at least an hour and hooked up to an EKG unit to monitor his heart rate, oxygen levels and his breathing.
One of the children was experiencing more severe symptoms of illness and was taken to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
The Town of Canmore said initial air monitoring by firefighters detected an elevated level of a hazardous substance that was suspected to be chlorine, based on the children’s symptoms.
In a statement posted on social media Monday evening, hotel management said, “We take this matter extremely seriously. We understand how upsetting this situation has been and are committed to providing our full support to those impacted.”
“Immediately upon becoming aware of the situation, our team contacted emergency services and Alberta Health, and we have been fully cooperating with all authorities since the outset.”
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The hotel also addressed rumours it claimed were circulating on social media that a different chemical may have been to blame for the children’s illness.
“At this time, we would like to make clear that there is no evidence to support claims or rumors circulating on social media regarding the presence of cyanide,” said the hotel’s statement.
“Our pool systems are professionally operated and monitored by a licensed chemical management company, which is investigating the incident. We have received guidance from Alberta Health, and ongoing testing and assessments have not identified any indication of deliberate contamination,” the statement added.
Contacted on Tuesday, Alberta Health Services refused further comment, saying the investigation remains ongoing.
It its social media post, hotel management committed to sharing any further information once confirmed by health authorities.
A spokesperson for the City of Calgary, which is located about 90 minutes east of Canmore, told Global News that chlorine is the most common chemical used to help sanitize pools.
“We use very specific standards for the chlorine and the treatment chemicals that we have to sanitize our pools,” said Bruce Altway, recreation team leader at the city of Calgary’s Village Square Leisure Centre. “They’re kept within very strict levels to make sure that we don’t overdose or don’t have enough chlorine or other treatment chemicals in the pool to maintain their safety and enjoyment.”
Altway said the Leisure Centre’s pool holds millions of litres of water and the amount of chlorine used is about 2-and-a-half parts per million.
“Alberta Health Services regulates us to make sure we have no less than 1.0 part per million of chlorine in our pool at any given time. We maintain our levels a little bit larger than that, but still within the provincial guidelines,” said Altway.
“So we do testing routinely throughout the day. Usually every two to three hours and we make periodic adjustments throughout the day and if any time that those levels are outside of where they need to be, we’ll make an adjustment or we’ll close the basin (pool) completely until we can make sure that the levels return to where they need to be,” added Altway.
Premier thanks first responders
On social media, Premier Danielle Smith said she was “certain we will learn more about what caused this incident in the coming days.”
“My heart goes out to the children who became seriously ill at a Canmore hotel pool and to their families,” she wrote.
“I am thinking of them and hoping for their full recovery. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the paramedics, firefighters, hospital staff and all first responders who rushed these kids to safety and provided urgent care.”
A spokesperson for the Canmore Eagles Minor Hockey Association confirmed many of the children were in town as part of a U-7 hockey tournament.
— with files from Rebecca Lau and Bella Finn
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