If this doesn’t sum up the year 2020, we don’t know what does. A zamboni burst into flames while it was being driven during a hockey game at the Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in Rochester, New York on Wednesday evening.
Luckily, there were no players on the ice at the time and nobody was injured. According to 13WhamNews, the fire occurred due to a fluke accident. Management at the Iceplex report that a hose carrying hydraulic fluid on the machine broke, which leaked fluid on the motor and a hot exhaust pipe.
Hockey scout Russ Bitely posted a picture and video of the incident to his Twitter account:
NBD. Just 2020 being 2020 at local Rochester rink tonite. pic.twitter.com/Nbkc0z7uIW
— Russ Bitely (@russbites) October 15, 2020
Here’s the video version. pic.twitter.com/u5zRFNIkvd
— Russ Bitely (@russbites) October 15, 2020
It’s crazy that the driver, Jordan Curtis, continued to operate the zamboni despite the fire. Instead of just ditching the flaming machine and trying to save himself, he calmly took the zamboni off the ice and extinguished the flames, reportedly within seconds.
This is a longer video that shows how far the zamboni driver had to travel with his machine on fire to get off the ice:
OK 2020…what's next? #didntseethatcoming pic.twitter.com/fb6KmqMkvT
— Melanie Barnas-Simmons (@mbarnas) October 15, 2020
It’s been reported Jordan was a long-time staff member of the complex and is well-respected in the community. He didn’t suffer any injuries.
Here’s the full statement from Chris Woodworth, General Manager of the Iceplex, on what occurred and the heroics of the driver:
“While multiple safety systems are in place throughout our entire facility to protect both staff and guests (in this instance, and most notably, fire suppression systems), the quick actions of our staff member single handedly prevented this incident from one worse than it was,” said Woodworth. “With the safety of all in mind, and acting without hesitation, Jordan rushed the machine off the ice surface, and extinguished the flames within seconds. Words cannot express the appreciation we have for Jordan, his quick thinking and heroic actions. Not all heroes wear capes, and in this instance, the hero just happened to be driving an ice resurfacer.”
2020 continues to be a brutal year, but luckily thanks to the heroic actions of this zamboni driver, all the fans and players were able to leave the Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex on Thursday evening unharmed.