The town of Okotoks is mourning the loss of the victims in the Fernie arena ammonia leak. Two of the three men had connections to the southern Alberta town.
Okotoks community services manager Susan Laurin said the town is in shock and everyone is feeling the loss.
According to Laurin, Lloyd Smith and Jason Podloski knew each other through their work in the refrigeration industry in town.
Smith was the recreation facilities manager and a certified power engineer and had worked for the town of Okotoks for two-and-a-half years before leaving for Fernie in 2015.
He had more than 15 years of experience working in arenas.
The town will remember Smith as being a mentor to many of the town’s staff and making their arenas a better place.
“We are all feeling his loss and a little bit in shock.”
Smith’s sister Karen Smith-Myles read a statement at a Friday presser, saying, “We are devastated by his loss but we’ve found comfort in the outpouring of support from many people whose lives Lloyd has touched.”
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She described Smith as a “loving brother, a caring leader and a proud, proud father to a 13-year-old son.”
Smith-Myles also read a statement from Lloyd’s son, Evan, who said, “we can’t express in words how difficult and sad this news is at the loss of my dad. He was loved by so many.”
Podloski was also a fixture in the town. He worked on arenas in Okotoks for about six years, employed with the refrigeration company CIMCO, which had a contract with the town.
He was a 46-year-old father and is being remembered by many people who knew him in Black Diamond, Turner Valley and Okotoks.
“Something must’ve gone terribly wrong because they were both experts in their field,” Laurin said.
The third victim also killed in the leak was identified as Wayne Hornquist.
Officials have determined that an alarm went off in the facility at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday. A call was later made to close the arena so that emergency repairs could be completed, City of Fernie chief administrative officer Norm McInness said Thursday.
A specialist was also called in to help.
Someone called 911 just before 1 p.m.; the bodies of three workers were later discovered at the arena.
With files from Carolyn Kury de Castillo