Another horror story of a jumping castle injuring another child was posted in recent weeks. This time the jumping castle didn't blow away with children inside , it did what everyone thinks was the impossible, it exploded ! read the article here -
Girl dies after jumping castle "explodes" in the UK
So how does a jumping castle just explode?
You would think this is what the jumping castles were designed
not to do. You would be right in thinking that. Jumping castles on the most are built to distribute pressure through cells stitched into the jumping castles. These are the round jumpy parts that you bounce on. Each cell has small holes in the ends to allow the transfer of the air to move from one cell to another as the weight is transferred as riders bounce off the inflated cells. You would also notice when you stand close to a jumping castle it has air coming out of it everywhere, this is because the jumping castle is kept at a constant pressure to insure the cells are inflated enough to hold the riders. To moderate the pressure it is slowly released through the stitching. Over time and in different temperatures the stitching will release more or less air making the jumping castle firmer or softer. The older the jumping castle the lower the pressure it tends to hold due to the stretching of the stitching. In hot climates or even on hot summer days in Brisbane jumping castles will hold a higher pressure due to the canvas and the stitching tightening and shrinking from the heat.
In the instance in the UK, the operators would of had the maximum number of blowers attached to the jumping castle to give the jumping castle its maximum weight capacity to insure the most users at any one time to maximise profits. However it appears the operator has not given the temperatures or the environment any consideration when doing this.
In my experienced opinion this incident has occurred due to the temperatures on the sand and on the beach. When you set a jumping castle up on the sand, the jumping castle also moulds into the sand which also limits the airflow and escape of air at the base of the castle (this is part of regulating the escape of air through the stitching). This along with high temperatures off the sand , maximum pressure from all blowers and the the hot air being pumped into the jumping castle straight off the top of the sand has all had a compounding affect in the stitching letting go in the most distressed part of the ride. This would usually be the bouncy section the riders use. Sadly this has then exploded under the pressure and catapulted the young 4 year old meters into the air, ending in the severe injury she suffered.
So how do you stop this from happening ?
In Australia we are now being implemented by insurance companies to have risk assessments in place to help identify and reduce the risks of this happening again. This has started coming into effect in the wake of the
Dreamworld Thunder river rapids ride malfunction. Although it is not regulated it is a very good starting measure by the insurance companies to start taking the risk away from riders of amusement rides. Is this going to be enough ? The government will also be under pressure from the coronial inquest to either regulate the Amusement Parks industry or put measures in place to regulate all rides and amusements in Australia all together under one legislation. Only time will tell if the current government will take the findings of the inquest and implement all the recommendations.
At
Castles 4 Jumping we now have this in place for any public event or private event in a public place to insure the safety of riders to insure we do not have a repeat of this situation from any one of our jumping castles. At Castles 4 Jumping we have had this in effect for over 12 months now and have found it to be very useful in reducing the potential of hazards or injury to riders. We Asses everything from environment to the general safety of the riders from heat and exhaustion.
If you are thinking of hiring a jumping castle or already have one booked for your next party or event we would highly suggest you ask your provider if they have any of these measures in place or are implementing them in the future. Jumping castles are not unsafe or are they a danger to children or adults that want to use them when they are monitored and operated within all safety limitations and recommendations. Finding the right operators and asking the right questions will eliminate these horror incidents from occurring in the future and insure the safety of your friends and family.
