Deserted Fairmont pools -- LNN

By Dori Modney / David Opinko

BC Fairmont Hot Springs pools closed due to health and safety concerns

Jan 10, 2020 | 3:17 PM

LETHBRIDGE — UPDATE: Comments from the Interior Health authority have been added to this article.

It’s a favourite winter playground for those who live in the region and those who visit from outside its borders. You can ski the hills of Panorama and then soak in the mineral hot pool at Fairmont Resort – all on the same day

Well, except for this weekend and perhaps longer.

Visitors who showed up at Farimont on Thursday, after spending time in the same pool earlier in the week, were surprised to find a notice stating the public pools were closed.

A posting on social media stated:

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“Due to safety reasons, we had to temporarily close our public pools. As our pools use natural mineral water from our hot springs, there is a concern with current flow rates that could potentially pose a safety risk to our guests.

We understand that this comes as a great disappointment to you and we apologize for he inconvenience.

The health and safety of our guests is our primary concern and we are working hard to ensure that we can re-open the pools as soon as possible.”

At this time, we cannot give a definite time for re-opening, however, we will continue to update on the status and communicate the re-opening date on our website and through social media channels as soon as we know.”

On Friday (Jan 10), the following note was posted to the Resort’s Facebook site:

“This morning we have been collaborating with members of the Regional, as well as the Provincial Interior Health Authority, on how to remedy the potential safety concerns. We are awaiting further communications once the review has been completed and hope to give another update on the status by tomorrow, Saturday, January 11.”

The health and safety of our guests is our primary concern and once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this temporary closure might cause.”

LethbridgeNewsNOW (LNN) was contacted by a Fairmont visitor who had been to the pools several times over the past few weeks and became concerned about their health, when they couldn’t get adequate answers from the staff as to what had transpired in that time.

LNN contacted Fairmont Hot Springs Resort for some context to what was transpiring, but our calls went unanswered.

We spoke to Courtney Zimmerman, the Corporate Director of Environmental Health with Interior Health about the matter.

She says a series of changes were made to the resort in the fall of 2019, then a series of inspections and reports conducted by Fairmont Hot Springs and their engineers were submitted, which “raised some concerns”.

Interior Health conducted two inspections of their own – one in the late fall and one on January 6, 2020.

In the Interior Health Inspection Reports, inspectors cited five “Non-critical Infractions” and two “Critical Infractions.”

They include:

— Pool water parameters not in compliance with legislative requirements. (Considered Critical)

— Suction and entrapment hazards (Considered Critical)

— Pool markings were not maintained

— Pool walls and bottom were not free of visible dirt, litter and algae growth

— Pool was not properly maintained

— Pool has been modified and repaired without proper approval

Zimmerman says it was the issue of suction and entrapment hazards that prompted the closure order under the B.C. Public Health Act and the B.C. Pool Regulation.

“The local inspector felt that, although in a situation like this the likelihood of an occurrence was low – the likelihood of a child swimming down to the bottom of the pool and getting suck into the main drain – the likelihood of that occurring is low; however, obviously, the severity of the consequence of what would happen there is very high.”

Should an incident like this occur, she claims it could lead to “entrapment, disembowelment, or death.”

As per the resort’s claims that the closure was due to flow rates in their water, Zimmerman adds that the faster flows could have potentially taken a small child towards the entrance to one of the filtration holes.

The closure is in effect until Fairmont Hot Springs is able to resolve the issues that were identified in the inspection.

Late Friday afternoon, a representative of Brookline Public Relations, Leanna Kruk, emailed the following statement to the LNN newsroom:

“This morning we have been collaborating with members of the Regional as well as the Provincial Interior Health Authority on how to remedy the potential safety concerns. Once the review has been completed by IHA we will be able to give another update on the status and potential dates of re-opening. Another update will be posted on Monday, January 13th, 2020.

The health and safety of our guests is our primary concern and once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this temporary closure might cause.”

Fairmont pool Closure — LNN