Reports that no changes will be made to amusement park ride inspections, despite the unfortunate incident that happened earlier this month.
On September 8, 13 children were injured when a children's swing ride at the annual Oyster Festival in Norwalk, Connecticut broke down. Stewart Amusement had no prior history of safety violations.
According to the Norwalk Daily Voice, only one child was seriously injured, and the remaining children were discharged from the hospital the same day. After inspecting all the other rides at the Oyster Festival, officials reopened the amusement park and the festival convened as usual.
Now, the Record-Journal reports that officials aren't planning on changing anything when it comes to the festival's amusement park ride inspection procedures.
Current regulations include ride and equipment inspections by both state troopers with the Fire and Explosions Unit and a professional structural engineer. State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance said of the current procedure, “we’re very comfortable that it works.”
Although inspections won't change, they may be watched a little more closely. Meriden Fire Marshal Stephen Trella also said that he wants to leave the inspections up to professionals to be safe. He said that he thought state officials who are familiar with the area's amusement ride companies should carry out the procedures rather than local town officials. “They know the company, they know the operators, they know the equipment,” he said. “At least you’ve got some consistency there.”
You can never be too careful. Laura Woodburn, director of ride operations at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, said, “Everyone wants the industry to be safe. It’s not uncommon for traveling shows to have certified inspectors on staff.”
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
