Woman Dies Falling from Inflatable Climbing Wall

[catbirdseat]

Okay, I have to admit, I saw it in RC.com. But this is so bizarre.

Fatal Fall from Inflatable Wall

[tomtom]

For Squid:

 

 

Woman dies after fall climbing inflated wall

Operator violated rules, state says

By Scott Goldstein, Globe Correspondent | May 28, 2005

 

A 24-year-old Saugus woman has died from injuries suffered when she fell last weekend from an inflatable climbing wall at a country music festival in Mansfield.

 

Stacy Sarrette died on her birthday at Boston Medical Center four days after the accident at the WKLB Country Music Festival at the Tweeter Center, her mother said.

 

State officials said yesterday that the company operating the wall violated numerous regulations.

 

Just For Fun Rentals of Danvers, the company that owns the 28-foot inflatable rock-climbing wall ''was in clear violation of a number of our regulations that were designed to prevent just this sort of thing from happening," Katie Ford, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety told the Associated Press.

 

Just For Fun officials expressed condolences to the Sarrette family last night and said they believe they complied with all regulations.

 

Ford said the device was not properly inspected and lacked the required permits. The company did not notify the state that it was operating the climbing wall, the company was unable to provide maintenance records, and the operator at the time of the fall was not properly trained or certified, Ford said. A preliminary state investigation found that operator error contributed to Sarrette's fall, Ford said. Mansfield police and the Bristol district attorney's office are also investigating.

 

A hearing has been scheduled for Friday to determine whether Just For Fun Rentals should be allowed to continue operating in Massachusetts, Ford said.

 

The company said it is conducting its own probe, but said it would cooperate with the state and other agencies.

 

''The application of recent Massachusetts regulations to inflatable devices (as opposed to mechanical devices) has been unclear, and Just For Fun has repeatedly requested guidance from DPS on how to comply with these new regulations," the company statement said. ''Just For Fun has complied in full with the advice and instructions it has received from DPS."

 

The company said that Mark Mooney, the chief inspector for the Department of Public Safety, issued 2005 permits for the company's mechanical rides. Mooney inspected the climbing wall April 29 at a Just For Fun event in Cambridge, the company statement said.

 

''Mr. Mooney inspected both the mechanical and inflatable amusement devices, including a physical test of the Rocky Mountain Inflatable Rock Wall and gave the event coordinator permission to operate all of Just For Fun's amusement devices."

 

But Ford said that while Mooney did go to a carnival in Cambridge last month to attach identification plates to Just For Fun's mechanical rides, but did not inspect or permit the climbing device.

 

The new regulations require that inflatable devices over 12 feet tall must be inspected every time they are put into operation, Ford said.

 

From Lynn last night, Ruth Sarrette said in a telephone interview that her daughter bounced about 6 to 10 feet in the air ''like a trampoline" and landed on her head.

 

She immediately lost consciousness and was kept on life support for several days. When she died her organs were donated, her mother said.

 

Her daughter was wearing a harness but was not wearing a helmet when she fell from the inflatable wall.

 

''I guess they don't think they needed them," she said. ''But she did. Hopefully, now they'll make them wear helmets."

 

Sarrette's mother described her daughter as ''terribly, excessively" outgoing. ''She was the life of the party, the light of my life," she said. ''She's going to be very, very sorely missed. It's going to be very hard."

 

Stacy Sarrette's sister, two cousins, and aunt were with her at the concert when the accident happened, Ruth Sarrette said.

 

A graduate of Lynn English High School, Sarrette counted skydiving, scuba diving, and parasailing among her hobbies and was preparing to add motorcycle rider to that list. Her motorcycle license came in the mail this week.

 

The department beefed up its regulations in March in response to the September death of a 38-year-old man who was thrown from a whirling ''Sizzler" ride at a church fair in Shrewsbury.

 

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Scott Goldstein can be reached at sgoldstein@globe.com.

[Squid]

Woman dies after fall climbing inflated wall

Operator violated rules, state says

 

By Scott Goldstein, Globe Correspondent | May 28, 2005

 

A 24-year-old Saugus woman has died from injuries suffered when she fell last weekend from an inflatable climbing wall at a country music festival in Mansfield.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

 

Stacy Sarrette died on her birthday at Boston Medical Center four days after the accident at the WKLB Country Music Festival at the Tweeter Center, her mother said.

 

State officials said yesterday that the company operating the wall violated numerous regulations.

 

Just For Fun Rentals of Danvers, the company that owns the 28-foot inflatable rock-climbing wall ''was in clear violation of a number of our regulations that were designed to prevent just this sort of thing from happening," Katie Ford, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety told the Associated Press.

 

Just For Fun officials expressed condolences to the Sarrette family last night and said they believe they complied with all regulations.

 

Ford said the device was not properly inspected and lacked the required permits. The company did not notify the state that it was operating the climbing wall, the company was unable to provide maintenance records, and the operator at the time of the fall was not properly trained or certified, Ford said. A preliminary state investigation found that operator error contributed to Sarrette's fall, Ford said. Mansfield police and the Bristol district attorney's office are also investigating.

 

A hearing has been scheduled for Friday to determine whether Just For Fun Rentals should be allowed to continue operating in Massachusetts, Ford said.

 

The company said it is conducting its own probe, but said it would cooperate with the state and other agencies.

 

''The application of recent Massachusetts regulations to inflatable devices (as opposed to mechanical devices) has been unclear, and Just For Fun has repeatedly requested guidance from DPS on how to comply with these new regulations," the company statement said. ''Just For Fun has complied in full with the advice and instructions it has received from DPS."

 

The company said that Mark Mooney, the chief inspector for the Department of Public Safety, issued 2005 permits for the company's mechanical rides. Mooney inspected the climbing wall April 29 at a Just For Fun event in Cambridge, the company statement said.

 

''Mr. Mooney inspected both the mechanical and inflatable amusement devices, including a physical test of the Rocky Mountain Inflatable Rock Wall and gave the event coordinator permission to operate all of Just For Fun's amusement devices."

 

But Ford said that while Mooney did go to a carnival in Cambridge last month to attach identification plates to Just For Fun's mechanical rides, but did not inspect or permit the climbing device.

 

The new regulations require that inflatable devices over 12 feet tall must be inspected every time they are put into operation, Ford said.

 

From Lynn last night, Ruth Sarrette said in a telephone interview that her daughter bounced about 6 to 10 feet in the air ''like a trampoline" and landed on her head.

 

She immediately lost consciousness and was kept on life support for several days. When she died her organs were donated, her mother said.

 

Her daughter was wearing a harness but was not wearing a helmet when she fell from the inflatable wall.

 

''I guess they don't think they needed them," she said. ''But she did. Hopefully, now they'll make them wear helmets."

 

Sarrette's mother described her daughter as ''terribly, excessively" outgoing. ''She was the life of the party, the light of my life," she said. ''She's going to be very, very sorely missed. It's going to be very hard."

 

Stacy Sarrette's sister, two cousins, and aunt were with her at the concert when the accident happened, Ruth Sarrette said.

 

A graduate of Lynn English High School, Sarrette counted skydiving, scuba diving, and parasailing among her hobbies and was preparing to add motorcycle rider to that list. Her motorcycle license came in the mail this week.

 

The department beefed up its regulations in March in response to the September death of a 38-year-old man who was thrown from a whirling ''Sizzler" ride at a church fair in Shrewsbury.

 

This sucks. Tragedies like this inspire politicians to 'Take Action!' which I fear may be misguided.

 

Obviously there were bigger issues at work here than whether or not the customers were wearing helmets, but the take-home message to the casual observer is that rock walls/rock gyms need to be legislated such that all participants need to wear helmets. This isn't the first time I've heard rumblings like this.

 

I think state licensing & regulation of climbing gyms is just a question of time. I hope as a community we're pro-active enough to make the regulations reasonable, rather than protesting all regulations.

 

Even if you're not a fan of pulling plastic, it's worth considering whether or not incidents like these will influence public policy & your access to rock climbing.

[catbirdseat]

Regulation in this country has always been on an "as needed" basis. Thus far, climbing gyms have done a pretty good job of maintaining a safe environment. There has been no need for regulation. Now climbing has come to carnivals and may require regulation. I hope climbing gyms DO NOT get sucked in. All the red tape would surely increase the overhead and put upward pressure on prices.

 

Anything that you have to pay to use is a potential target for regulation.

Edited June 7, 2005 by catbirdseat

[selkirk]

Huh CBS? You want to pay more to pull plastic?

[catbirdseat]

Huh CBS? You want to pay more to pull plastic?

Hell no! I'm no fan of regulation. I'm just telling it like it is.

 

That's the story of the FDA. New regulations are put on the drug industry every time someone dies. Regulation is reactive.

[catbirdseat]

Regulation in this country has always been on an "as needed" basis. Thus far, climbing gyms have done a pretty good job of maintaining a safe environment. There has been no need for regulation. Now climbing has come to carnivals and may require regulation. I hope climbing gyms DO NOT get sucked in. All the red tape would surely increase the overhead and put upward pressure on prices.

 

Anything that you have to pay to use is a potential target for regulation.

[Mark_Husbands]

eschew carnies.

[archenemy]

Now climbing has come to carnivals and may require regulation.

 

Have you seen the people working carnivals? Are they going to read, memorize, and enforce "regulations"? I'd rather OD on cotton candy than entrust my life to those flunkies. Suddenly, free soloing doesn't seem so dangerous...