Carbon Monoxide in Hockey Arenas Is Still Not Regulated in Canada

Hockey season is starting again. Three Calgary-area parents have just published an account of what happened to their sons at a tournament, and the part that should stop you is not the incident. It is that nothing legally has to change to prevent the next one, because carbon monoxide in hockey arenas sits under federal guidance that recommends monitors without requiring them.

Dan Moir, an off-duty firefighter, was watching a weekend tournament at a rural Alberta arena in December 2024 when his son came off the ice with a headache and nausea, as reported by CBC News. Ten or fifteen minutes later, a second player came off with the same complaints, then a third. Moir wondered about a flu bug, then noticed the boys improved once they got outside. He landed on carbon monoxide on the drive home and called a local fire department. Crews measured levels between 90 and 150 parts per million and evacuated. At Alberta Children's Hospital, 23 children and two adults had readings requiring treatment and monitoring.

Why are carbon monoxide detectors in arenas not required?

Moir is one of three parents who wrote about the experience in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, alongside co-author Laurie Lee, a pediatric nurse practitioner and epidemiologist whose own son was there. Their argument is not that arenas are dangerous. It is that the safeguards are voluntary. Federal recommendations cover air quality in ice rinks without requiring anything, and carbon monoxide detectors in arenas are not universally installed. Some local jurisdictions set their own standards. Many do not.

Jessica Marshall, whose son had one of the higher readings when he was tested in the emergency department, said learning there were no rules was hard to believe given how simple the fix is next to a smoke detector. Her son now brings his own handheld monitor to rinks. Vittoria Vecchiarelli, an Ontario-based certified public health inspector who wrote a related CMAJ commentary, has called for enforceable limits and required sensors with alarms, noting a properly set alarm would have warned staff and parents far earlier.

This was not a one-off. The CMAJ work counted 11 carbon monoxide poisonings and one nitrogen dioxide poisoning at indoor Canadian ice rinks between 2016 and 2026, and noted the documented cases may not capture the full extent. After one in 2019, close to 80 people sought treatment after an exposure at a St. John's arena, and a leak sickened people at a Piikani Nation facility in August 2025.

Where does the gas come from in the first place?

The gas comes from ordinary equipment, which is why this recurs. Vecchiarelli has said combustion engine machinery such as ice resurfacers and edgers, along with heaters and boilers, commonly produces carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. Equipment that is not maintained or tuned regularly emits more, and with poor ventilation, the gases build up. In the Alberta case, the family's understanding was that a bird's nest had blocked a heat exhaust, pushing it back into a dressing room. Carbon monoxide in hockey arenas is almost always a maintenance story rather than a dramatic one.

Can a headache and nausea at the rink be the first warning?

Often it is the only warning. Carbon monoxide is odourless, tasteless and colourless, which is why nobody in that building knew anything was wrong until children started feeling ill. Nitrogen dioxide is different, with a harsh smell and a reddish-brown colour, so it at least announces itself. A headache and nausea at the rink, along with dizziness, are the symptoms Vecchiarelli listed, and the gas interferes with the blood's ability to carry oxygen. That is why players are more exposed than spectators. Kids on the ice are working hard and breathing heavily, so they take in more than the parents in the stands.

The pattern Moir noticed is the one to remember. Several people in one building feeling unwell at the same time, then improving outside, is a signal worth acting on rather than explaining away as a bug going around. Fresh air or oxygen given by health workers relieves symptoms, and more severe cases may need hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Dr. Bruce Campana, an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, who was not involved in the work, told CTV News that untreated exposure can lead to personality, emotional and cognitive changes appearing weeks or even months later. He described the threat as insidious, and said he expects reasonably up-to-date arenas have already taken steps, since the risk to many people at once and the liability are both high. Symptoms that linger after an exposure are worth taking to a clinician, and a fluttering or thudding heartbeat that wakes you at night is one of the things people notice afterwards. Persistent tiredness is another, and being constantly tired and cold with weight creeping up has a different and simpler explanation worth ruling out.

What should you ask your rink before the first tournament?

What to ask your rink is short and reasonable. Does the building have carbon monoxide monitors with audible alarms, where are they, and at what level are they set? How often is the resurfacer serviced, and is it a combustion engine or electric? Is there a written response plan if an alarm sounds? None of that is confrontational, and arena staff know the answers. Ask it alongside which respiratory season vaccines to book this autumn, since both are September jobs. Carbon monoxide in hockey arenas is the rare risk where one question from one parent changes a building. Parents already ask similar questions about concussion protocols, and the reasoning behind what a hard knock in youth sport actually adds up to is the same. If anyone came home from a rink with a headache that did not quite add up, that is worth getting looked at properly rather than waiting, and one page of symptoms, timing and medications makes that appointment far more useful.

Questions parents are asking this week.

Are Canadian arenas required to have detectors?

No. Federal guidance covers air quality in ice rinks and recommends monitoring, but it does not require it, and the parents and inspector behind this report say best practices are not universally followed. Some municipalities and provinces set their own standards. Whether your local rink has an alarm depends on local policy and on the operator.

What does carbon monoxide poisoning feel like?

Headache, nausea and dizziness are the symptoms named in this report. The gas interferes with the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Because it has no smell, taste or colour, the pattern matters more than any single symptom. Several people in one building falling ill together and improving outdoors is the signal to act on.

Why are young players more affected than spectators?

Because they are working hard and breathing heavily, they take in more of the gas than adults sitting in the stands. In the Alberta case, 23 children and two adults had levels requiring treatment. Players coming off the ice were the first to report symptoms, which is what allowed one parent to spot the pattern.

What should I do if I suspect an exposure?

Get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911 or your local fire department so the building can be tested. Do not wait to see whether symptoms settle. Fresh air and oxygen relieve symptoms, and severe cases may need hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Untreated exposure can produce effects weeks later.

This article is general information and not medical advice. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911. For anything non-urgent, speak with a doctor or another qualified health professional about your own situation.

If somebody came home from a rink with a headache and nausea that did not fit anything else, you can compare walk-in clinics near you and see current wait times on Medimap, or browse the Medimap Health Hub for more on seasonal health risks.