Better fair ride safety wanted Lawmaker proposes tighter inspections

AUGUSTA – The next time you or a loved one think about taking a whirl on an amusement ride, perhaps at one of Maine’s many fairs, don’t assume it’s safe just because the State Fire Marshal’s Office has stuck an inspection seal on it, warns a state lawmaker.

Sen. Barry Hobbins, D-Saco, said he is preparing legislation requiring a complete safety check by the state instead of the partial inspection now performed on merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, tilt-a-whirls and other rides.

“I wish we were in session now to deal with this,” he said recently. “That’s how strongly I feel about it.”

Hobbins said the serious safety problems at the LaKermesse Festival in Biddeford in June prompted his interest in the inspections. He was outraged that the fire marshal’s office had placed a state inspection seal on rides indicating they had been inspected when there had been no electrical inspection of the rides.

“They told me they only conducted an inspection of the mechanical parts of the ride, and that the electrical inspection was up to the local municipal inspector to conduct. I said that is not good enough, that the public is at risk,” he said.

Hobbins said the state seal on the rides would give the impression that a ride had been fully inspected and was safe. He said that in a meeting with state and municipal officials it became clear the rides were not safe after the fire marshal’s office had given its seal of approval.

“They were not safe,” Biddeford Code Officer Tim Nelson said, referring to the LaKermesse Festival rides. “We found numerous and serious electrical violations.”

Nelson photographed dozens of violations from frayed power cables lying on the ground to improper splicing of power cables and improperly attached cables. He said Biddeford decided the rides were unsafe and prevented the rides from operating.

Nelson, who serves as president of the Maine Building Officials and Inspectors Association, said many communities are not staffed to provide an electrical inspection and would incur significant costs to contract for electrical inspections.

“There have been issues in Skowhegan and in Bath. Pretty much wherever these traveling amusements go, there have been some problems this year,” Nelson said.

The Skowhegan State Fair got under way last week with few rides operating because of several electrical and mechanical problems with rides. There were also problems at the Northern Maine Agricultural Fair in Presque Isle when several of the trucks used to transport the rides were taken off the road by state police for safety violations.

Nelson said the whole area of itinerant amusements is one where a public safety issue has “fallen through the cracks,” and the state needs to address the problem.

“Small towns can’t do this on their own,” he said. “We already have the fire marshal’s office doing inspections. I agree with Senator Hobbins. They should be doing a complete inspection, and I have had talks with the fire marshal’s office about it.”

Public safety Commissioner Michael Cantara said he has asked the fire marshal’s office, which is part of his department, to develop a plan to address the inspection issue. He agreed with Hobbins that there is a public perception that a ride is safe if the fire marshal has placed a seal on the ride indicating it passed inspection.

“We need to get to the point of a one-stop shopping process, if you will, that makes sure there is a complete and thorough safety inspection,” he said. “We are actively working on that.”

Hobbins said fees charged for the inspections should be increased to cover the costs. That could be expensive. For example, the carnival ride vendor at the Northern Maine, Skowhegan and Cumberland fairs, Carr Expositions Inc., paid a single $1,100 fee for all three fairs.

“We expended significantly greater costs than are covered by the fees,” said Assistant State Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas, “and we are still incurring costs.”

Thomas provided a spreadsheet that showed detailed costs of sending inspectors to Presque Isle were in excess of $22,000. He said the final costs of inspecting the Skowhegan Fair will not be known until all the expense vouchers are processed. The fair ends this weekend.

“These inspections can take a lot of time,” he said. “We had one inspector that put in 30 hours at that one venue [Presque Isle] alone.”

Cantara said it is not unusual to have inspectors go back three or four times before a mechanical defect on a ride has been repaired. He said it may take fee increases to provide an incentive to the business owners to fix defects swiftly.

“Maybe we should have a fee structure that takes into account how many times an inspector has to visit a ride before it is repaired,” he said. “We are looking at several approaches and will work with Senator Hobbins on legislation.”

Hobbins said he will work with Cantara and other state agencies to overhaul the inspection process. He expects it will include fee increases.

“What I am hoping to do is to put this public safety matter on the front burner,” he said. “I think the Biddeford situation was a wake-up call that the state needs to get involved.”