Ice Resurfacer Bursts Into Flames on Ice Rink in Rochester

Hockey players and spectators at a Rochester, New York, ice rink were shocked by a bizarre spectacle as an ice resurfacer burst into flames on the ice on October 14. The driver was not injured, a spokesman for the rink said.

Christopher Woodworth, the general manager at the rink, provided Storyful with this video and told Storyful no one was injured.

“Driver was fine, and there were no injuries,” he said. “Fire department was called, but our driver had the fire put out before they arrived.”

Woodworth said while the video looks bad, the cause and scope of the fire were minor.

“A hydraulic line broke, leaking hydraulic fluid onto a hot pipe, which ultimately caught that fluid on fire,” he said. “Hydraulic challenges like this are common, and fires have occurred in the past, although rare, and never before at our venue.”

The video shows the ice resurfacer driving across the rink, leaving an ominous red line on the ice, when suddenly the right side of the machine catches fire.

“The driver quickly acted, drove the machine off the ice, and put the fire out with a fire extinguisher within a matter of seconds,” he said. Credit: Christopher Woodworth via Storyful