by Heather Graf
FRANKIN, Tenn. - A popular ice rink in Williamson County had to temporarily close its doors after several kids got sick while skating. A few even had to be taken to the emergency room.
A-Game Sportsplex plays host to hundreds of kids and dozens of teams each week. General Manager Trigg Wilkes said staffers first noticed something was wrong on Saturday.
"We started getting a series of kids that had a real bad, harsh cough," said Wilkes. "As the day progressed, more and more kids started being affected to the point where it scared us a little bit."
Parent Kelly Merrill said her nine-year-old son started showing symptoms when he got home that night.
"My son actually came home Saturday night from practice and said that his throat felt funny, and he was having trouble catching breath," she said. "My first reaction was maybe he ate something bad or maybe he's coming down with something."
Wilkes decided to call the Fire Marshal right away, because he didn't want to take any chances.
"The first thing we thought was carbon monoxide," he said.
When the Fire Marshal ruled out that possibility, he called in the Center For Toxicology & Environmental Health.
"That was the really frustrating part, for 48 hours, was determining what it was," he said.
After several tests, the staff determined it was a malfunctioning Zamboni that was pumping toxins into the air and making kids sick.
"It's called nitrogen dioxide, and it is a combustion that is created from a firing engine," Wilkes said. "We would call it a filter on a car, the Zamboni people call it a scrubber. And its purpose is to collect those agents before they get out in the air, and it just failed."
By Wednesday afternoon, the air quality inside the two ice rinks had passed six separate tests. The Zamboni that caused the problem has been removed from the building, and Wilkes says it will not be used again.
Parents tell News Channel 5 they were pleased with how the facility handled the situation.
"After they closed the rink, I think we received three or four emails, updating us about what they were doing," said parent Ed Kawamora.
All of the kids that got sick have since been cleared by the doctor. In fact, many of them returned to the ice when the facility re-opened.
As a precaution, A-Game staff have asked the Center For Toxicology and Environmental Health to continue testing the air quality at the rink, two times a day, until sensors are installed that will detect those potentially toxic fumes in the future.
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