2023-08-14 11:27:00
Following the accident which occurred yesterday in an attraction of the fair of La Hestre, the question of the control of the trades, especially those with sensations, arises. While the Midi fair is in full swing in Brussels. Patrick de Corte, representative of the fairgrounds, reassures. “We have an annual security check carried out by an independent body. Without the certificate of this control, we cannot open. We must be in order of insurance, too. We undergo gas checks, fire prevention, electricity, etc. You can’t do better in terms of controls for the security of the attractions. For what happened yesterday in La Hestre, the investigation is ongoing. We obviously have a thought for the victims. Our job is to give happiness. It is a disaster.”
Two hours of inspection and maintenance each morning for the Polyp
Patrick de Corte mainly runs chip shops, but what regarding the big attractions? Jonathan Pailhe, 18 years old from Foire du Midi in the legs, holds the Polyp, a well-known ride on the site, with an articulated octopus. “We are one of the attractions that has the most mechanisms to oil. Every morning, I spend two or three hours inspecting and maintaining it.” In addition to all the checks mentioned by his colleague Patrick De Corte, Jonathan is inspected at each assembly of his attraction. “We cannot open without a certificate of compliant assembly carried out by an approved body.”
”I know my machine like the back of my hand”
The showman also points out the importance of “knowing your job. I’ve been running it for years. I notice the slightest anomaly and I know how to check myself directly if everything is fine. In amusement parks where the rides are fixed and where students operate in summer, there is not necessarily this in-depth knowledge of the machine.” Regarding yesterday’s accident, Jonathan is convinced that it is not negligence on the part of the showmen.
The Polyp, an institution at the Foire du Midi, is inspected daily. © Bernard Demoulin
In the city of Brussels, the alderman Fabian Maingain (Défi) confirms the statements of the fairgrounds. “In addition to the mandatory annual security check certificate, a few days before the opening, the Fire and Emergency Medical Service comes to check everything. Sibelga, (manager of the electricity and gas distribution networks for the Brussels municipalities) also comes to check. Their agents look at the gas pipes, check that there is no short circuit for example. And for the big trades of category A and B you need a certificate of assembly in the standards (The Polyp, for example, is of category A). The trade department also checks insurance compliance. “This year, we almost didn’t let a trade open because it didn’t provide us with its insurance documents. He finally did on the last day before opening. So, it’s all right.”
The 143rd edition of the Foire du midi opens on Saturday, until August 20 ©BELGA
“No risk does not exist”
As an alderman, we don’t remember any accidents at the Foire du Midi. Ditto for the carnies, or just “light scratches.” “Zero risk does not exist but we do everything to prevent it,” explains Fabian Maingain. A few press articles nevertheless mention incidents in the course of the 2010s, some of which resulted in injuries, particularly in 2011.
Regarding attendance at the Foire du Midi, which resumes with the return of the sun, the fairgrounds are not very worried. “Obviously this is bad publicity. But look at plane crashes or car crashes… that’s not why people don’t travel or drive anymore or cars don’t sell anymore.”
A particularly deadly summer in leisure parks
The summer of 2023 has unfortunately already been particularly deadly for entertainment venues of this nature. At the very end of July, it was a young 35-year-old father, while he was on an aquatic inflatable structure at the Wonderland Waterpark in Saint-Maximin, in the Var, who lost his life abruptly, the structure having was blown down by a violent gust. The late father was with his young daughter on the structure. The little one is, according to the latest news, still between life and death. The security of the establishment was questioned.
Last weekend, in Cap d’Agde, it was the “L’Adrénaline” attraction at Luna Park in Cap d’Agde, a sort of giant swing 60 meters high, which dropped and caused the death of a 17-year-old boy and seriously injured another person.
Last June, the 25th, a roller coaster accident occurred in the Gröna Lund amusement park, located on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. Created in 1883, it is one of the oldest amusement parks in the country.
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