Inspectors take care examining rides

The state’s 2,780 rides are inspected at random during the amusement season.

By MARC KOVAC

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBUS — Inflatables without a license, or not anchored to the ground.

Ferris wheels and trains operated unsafely.

Patrons zooming down water slides with no lifeguards on duty.

Such were among the violations found by state inspectors last year at amusement parks, ride owners and aquatic facilities.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture levied upward of $40,000 in fines last year, including $22,000-plus against the owner of six inflatable amusements (big, air-filled contraptions that kids bounce around in) for operating without a license, without proper anchoring and with generators that weren’t grounded.

The department’s Enforcement Division also investigated nine reported accidents at various parks and events around the state that resulted in civil penalties or were blamed on patron behavior.

Licensed rides

According to statistics released in June, the state is home to 2,780 licensed rides housed at 71 permanent parks and 51 go kart tracks.

Some move from location to location, via 309 portable ride companies that frequent county fairs and street festivals.

All fall under the watchful eye of the Amusement Ride Safety Division, which handles the inspection and licensing of all rides in operation in Ohio. The division has 10 total employees, including eight inspectors, said LeeAnne Mizer, a spokeswoman for the department.

The division’s chief and employees declined media interviews.

“This time of year, they are working a lot of hours to get all the rides up and running,” she said.

Throughout the year, inspectors frequent amusement parks, water parks and companies that operate portable rides.

Rides are inspected annually, and each must pass inspectors’ scrutiny before receiving the license required to operate.

The process

The process varies depending on the type of ride involved, Mizer said.

For portable rides, like the Ferris wheels, carousels and bungee jumping apparatus that appear at county fairs, there’s a standard 37-point inspection form.

Rides must conform to manufacturers’ operating standards with no cracks or excessive wear.

They must be anchored and braced properly, with motors and belts and cables in working order.

Hydraulic systems, latches and restraints must be operating properly.

“These are mechanical pieces of equipment that need upkeep and maintenance,” Mizer said.

“Unsatisfactory” issues must be fixed before rides are licensed.

Afterward, operators and owners must provide the Department of Agriculture with a list of locations and events they plan to attend. Inspectors often visit those events to make sure rides are safe — though they don’t attend every fair or street festival to check the equipment, Mizer said.

Double checking

“We do not check a ride each and every time it’s set up and torn down,” she said. “We inspect rides annually, and then we follow up and do some of those second and third inspections throughout the summer, as we feel necessary.”

The St. Christine Festival in Youngstown will be happening Thursday through Sunday. Clay Fahner, supervisor of ride set-up and operation for Bates Bros. Amusement Co., said once all the rides are completely set up, the inspectors come to make sure every ride meets the state’s standards.

“They come and look over everything and make sure it’s all safe,” Fahner said. “Afterward we double check everything just to be sure.”

According to Fahner, the inspectors call and notify him to tell him when they will be coming. Fahner said he and his crew will have all the rides set up by then. In the event that there is something wrong or out of place that the inspectors notice, they will then write it down and inform Fahner, who must then fix it and have the inspectors check it again before the ride may operate.

Causes of injury

The Department of Agriculture notes that most ride injuries in the state are caused by human error — specifically, dangerous horseplay by riders.

Patron error was the cause last year at the Adventure Education Center in Columbus, where a 46-year-old man broke an ankle (later requiring surgery) in an inflatable ride, according to state records.

At Airport Go Karts in Cleveland, a 10-year-old boy suffered a concussion and a cut under his eye after colliding with another cart. “Patron entered pit area too fast, bounced off rail [and was] hit from behind by another incoming go kart,” according to records.

But others were attributed to operators’ errors and resulted in fines. During a festival at a church in Sharonville, a 12-year-old girl broke her wrist and suffered a concussion after falling from an inflatable slide.

At the Lorain County Fair, a 12-year-old girl was transported to a hospital after being shocked while leaving a ride.

Mizer said inspectors are seeing a lot more water-related and inflatable rides than in the past. But there still are plenty of old-fashioned merry-go-rounds and traditional rides in operation, too.

“Some of the older rides have been kept in great shape, and they’re still around,” she said, adding, “[But] we’re definitely seeing the water rides and the inflatables popping up more frequently.”