Fair rides get multiple safety inspections
Oklahoma State Fair attendees this year can see Oklahoma City from atop the tallest movable Ferris wheel in the Western Hemisphere, but only after three teams of inspectors check the safety of the wheel and 75 other rides and attractions throughout the park.
Inspectors from the Oklahoma Department of Labor on Wednesday continued their routine inspections as crews prepared for the fair to open to the public Thursday morning.
“Amusement ride safety is very much a partnership,” Labor Commissioner Melissa Houston said. “The owners are certainly doing their part. The operators are doing their part, and the Department of Labor is doing our part.”
Houston asked fair attendees to do their part by following all safety requirements.
“As a parent, when you see the sign that says you must be this tall to ride, that is not a test of maturity,” she said. “This is actually an engineering schematic for the restraint system.”
Oklahoma law requires three sets of inspections on amusement park rides. Besides the inspectors from the Labor Department, the fair
and ride operator Wade Shows each must hire a third-party inspector. Labor Department inspectors also will be at the fair throughout its 11-day run.
Fair inspections have gained additional attention after a July 26 incident that killed one and injured seven others when part of the Fire Ball ride broke apart during the Ohio State Fair.
The operator of that fair is not in Oklahoma, but the event has heightened an already focused level of attention on ride safety throughout the industry, Wade Shows owner Frank Zaitshik said.
“When we get the results and exactly what happened is clear, there will be modification made,” he said. “In the meantime, any type of ride such as that is out of service until we can determine what needs to be done to make it safe again.”
Homecoming
Zaitshik began his carnival and fair career at the Oklahoma State Fair in 1966 when he operated one of the midway games.
“I got here about 3:30 in the morning and was trying to figure out how to get my truck in,” he said of his first time at the Oklahoma fair. “I saw the space needle and the monorail. I’d never seen anything like that in my life.”
Zaitshik’s company now is the largest familyowned carnival company in the country. Its rides are open 10.5 months a year and provide rides for 15 million to 18 million people each year at events in 14 states, he said.
“This is not our first rodeo,” he said. “I have eight grandkids. I’ve done this my whole life. At the twilight of my career at 71 years old, I certainly want my career to end with a great safety record.”