By Paul Leighton
Staff writer
—
The operator flicked the switch, and the Cobra started spinning yesterday morning at the Topsfield Fair.
But instead of screaming kids and smiling parents, the only interested observers were serious-looking men with badges on their belts and clipboards in their hands.
A team of 12 inspectors from the state Department of Public Safety spent the last two days inspecting the 50 rides that will start spinning for real when the fair opens tomorrow.
The inspections are required by the state as part of the fair's license to operate. The inspectors roamed the fairgrounds in groups of three, running down an 18-point checklist on every ride from the Dragon Wagon to the Freak Out.
"I feel the rides are very safe," said E.J. Dean of Fiesta Shows, the Seabrook, N.H., company that has been supplying the fair's carnival rides since 1949. "I have a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old and nieces and nephews. I certainly wouldn't want them to go on anything that would put them in jeopardy."
According to the state's "amusement device inspection checklist," the inspectors examine dozens of items on each ride — passenger safety belts, stairways and ramps, visible bolting, emergency control devices, brakes, hydraulics, adjacent hazards.
The inspectors also check the records of ride operators, who are required to be trained.
In addition, the rides are inspected every day of the fair by Fiesta Shows' own certified mechanics, according to Jack Silar, an insurance inspector who also examines the rides.
Silar, the former general manager of Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, rode around the midway in a golf cart yesterday, stopping to talk with state inspectors as they examined rides such as the merry-go-round and the Polar Express.
At one point, Silar checked under the Cobra ride to answer a question one of the state inspectors had about recent repairs.
Asked how safe the rides at the Topsfield Fair are, Silar said, "I'm confident that every effort that can be made has been made. The caliber of the inspectors is probably better than it has been."
Fiesta Shows has "no reportable incidents" on its safety record since 2005, when the state overhauled its regulations, said Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
An 8-year-old Danvers boy suffered head injuries on a kiddie roller-coaster ride in 2002, but a Department of Public Safety investigation said the injury was caused when the boy partially stood up before the ride stopped.
Dean said most of the Topsfield Fair rides were built in the mid-'80s or later, and some, like the Star Ship Exodus, are brand-new. The Tilt-a-Wheel and the merry-go-round date back to the '70s, he said.
Fiesta Shows breaks down all rides and puts them back together as it travels from show to show, more than 50 per year throughout New England. Dean said the constant deconstruction allows mechanics to get a closer look at the internal parts of each ride and make sure they're in good condition.
"There is a human element so there is the potential for error," he said. "But you can reduce it greatly by the amount of involvement you have for each device."
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by e-mail at pleighton@salem news.com.
