Rides at Clark Co. Fair go through intensive inspections

Before the first kid is strapped into the Kamikaze at the Clark County Fair, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said each ride has gone through a series of thorough checks.

According to a fact sheet provided by the agency, the state employs eight full-time inspectors who regularly inspect more than 4,000 rides across the state, which includes the 30 rides at Clark County’s Fair.

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The fair opens today and runs through July 27.

Dean Blair, Executive Director of the Clark County Fairgrounds, said a tragedy at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus on July 26, 2017 has changed the way a lot of fairs deal with ride safety.

Tyler Jarrell died when the ride he was on at the State Fair fell apart. Seven people were also injured in the accident.

“When you see a tragedy like that, whatever it is in whatever part of the world — it makes us all raise the bar,” Blair said.

Blair said inspectors spend hours testing and critiquing rides. They then bring their reports back to him to make sure the ride owners, Durant Amusements enforce the needed changes.

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Blair said Durant has fewer infractions from the ODA inspectors than the average ride company, and he remains confident in their ability to keep up with safety standards.

“I’ve got grandkids here and kids here and lots of friends and family in the community who are riding these rides,” he said.

The ODA stated that each inspection ensures that each ride is assembled, maintained and operated according to the manufacturer’s operations. There’s a test for proper assembly, a test when the equipment isn’t running and another test when the ride is running.

The agency also added that inspectors undergo a minimum one year of training before they can go out on their own.

Melissa Gantz is a mother of two children — Tucker and Kenzie, who are both active in 4-H. They spend a lot of time at the fair, and love to go on rides, she said.

“You do want the children to be in the safest position at all possible,” she said. “I would hope the regulations are just as stringent as they are at King’s Island or at Cedar Point and they need to be.”

Gantz said safety is not only important for her kids, but the kids who look forward to the fair just for the rides.

“There’s kids and families that come for the rides. And this is the only opportunity they have to ride a ride,” she said.

ODA inspectors are tasked with inspecting rides at theme parks, portable rides, aquatic amusement rides and inflatable rides.

ODA is working with national organizations as discussions continue on potential changes to amusement ride safety standards, the agency said in a release.

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