Gwinnett fair using ride company involved in deadly Ohio accident

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Crews are taking extra precaution while checking the safety of rides at one of Georgia’s largest fairs.

The Gwinnett County Fair opens Thursday.

The rides have been provided by the same company whose Fire Ball attraction malfunctioned at the Ohio State Fair, killing an 18-year-old man.

The Gwinnett County Fair has contracted with Amusements of America, a New Jersey carnival ride company, for 20 years without incident, the fair’s manager said.

Corrosion on the Fire Ball caused the ride's arm to break off July 26, throwing multiple people from the ride in Columbus, Ohio.

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Channel 2's Dave Huddlestonwent along with the state fire marshal Thursday as he inspected the rides at the Gwinnett County Fair.

"We've had a team of 10 out here for the last two days inspecting all the rides," Georgia State Fire Marshal Dwayne Garriss said.

Garriss said it's his job to make sure every ride that comes into the state is inspected and safe. He found a few issues before the fair opened.

"Some safety belts were worn, maybe didn't latch very good, so we made them replace those," he said.

Garriss said once a ride is inspected, it gets a sticker showing that it's safe. He and his team kept a close eye as operators performed their safety checks.

Because of incidents like the one in Ohio, Georgia lawmakers passed a new law that all rides must have "non-destructive metal" inspectors to check for things like corrosion. The law goes into effect in January 2018.

Cox Media Group