The Technical Standards and Safety Authority is investigating after a ride at the Brigden Fair broke and fell Friday with children on it, Lambton OPP say.
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No one was seriously injured but one of the about seven riders was taken to hospital as a precaution, said OPP Const. Jamie Bydeley, noting the incident happened around 1:10 pm
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The ride, with whale-shaped carriers that go in circles, and up and down, between five and 10 feet off the ground, officials said, was shut down and taken apart after the incident.
“It will not be used again this weekend,” said John Scott, president of the fair-host Moore Agricultural Society Sunday.
“As to the future of it, I have no idea,” he said.
Details weren’t available about the ride’s age, or why it broke, but it’s the first instance of a ride failing at the fair Scott said he can recall.
It was inspected by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) weeks or months before the fair opened, he said.
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“I’ve been a board member for a lot of years and never had anything like this happen before,” he said, nothing the fair’s relationship with midway-provider World’s Finest Shows goes back some 40 years without incident.
“They’re very reputable,” he said.
TSSA personnel attended the site Saturday after OPP held the scene and will continue the investigation, Bydeley said.
“We don’t believe there’s any kind of criminal element to it,” he said.
Attendance at the four-day, Thanksgiving weekend fair meanwhile was strong, Scott said, despite rain and colder weather for its 173rd running.
“Attendance has been very good,” he said. “The people have been great.”
More than 40,000 expected in 2022, he said.
The number of vendors, meanwhile, was up about 100, to 216, a record, he said, noting more areas of the fairgrounds were opened to accommodate the increase.
“We’ve done our best in 2022 and 2023 to grow and enhance the fair,” after a two year break amid COVID-19, he said.
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