Zamboni catches fire following a local New York youth hockey practice

Scary scenes broke out at a Brighton, N.Y. ice rink when a Zamboni that was cleaning the ice at a hockey rink caught on fire. Video of the incident was posted on social media from local patrons and multiple angles.

The video shows the machine cleaning the rink and then smearing something red across the ice as smoke emerges from the engine. Shortly after the driver looked underneath the Zamboni, flames erupted from the machine as shock and awe erupted from those witnessing the incident.

As for what specifically happened, as WHEC reports, the hose on the back of the Zamboni started leaking hydraulic fluid. Shortly afterwards, the hose caught on fire. This is according to a statement from Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex, the location of the incident itself.

Further reporting discovered that thankfully the fiery spectacle remained just that: a spectacle. The hockey players were off the ice when the fire erupted, and the person who was driving the Zamboni at the time was able to escape from the fire unharmed.

The Zamboni was named after its creator, Frank Zamboni, who applied for the patent in 1949 and got it in 1953. The machine was first used to clean and smooth the ice in an NHL game in 1954.