A North American Midway Entertainment worker was taken to the hospital Saturday after he was injured while inspecting the unloading platform of the Fireball ride at the Kentucky State Fair.
Last year, the Fireball at the Ohio State Fair broke apart, killing one man and injuring several others. An improved version of the ride was brought to the state fairgrounds this year in south Louisville.
There were no guests involved in the Saturday incident, according to a release from the Kentucky State Fair Board and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. First aid and emergency responders were immediately notified.
The ride was immediately shut down and has since been taken off the property.
Amy Girton, a spokeswoman for North American Midway Entertainment, said the employee's injuries were not considered life-threatening. He has not been identified.
All other rides at the state fair have been inspected and are operational, a release from North American Midway said.
The Fireball was banned by Kentucky last season after the fatal incident in Ohio. North American Midway had pulled the three it owns off the market but brought the ride back this year.
Excessive corrosion on a support beam was blamed for the failure, though Ohio safety inspectors had approved the ride as safe. North American Midway had nothing to do with the Ohio tragedy: a different company supplied the fatal ride.
The state fair in Louisville hasn't had a notable ride-related injury since 2004, Courier Journal previously reported. The rides were checked by six state ride inspectors and five electricians to evaluate them for safety before they took on passengers.
North American Midway Entertainment also has its own inspectors to examine rides before operation and run through a checklist every day.
Nationally, amusement park attraction injuries sent about 29,400 people to emergency rooms in 2017. That includes fixed-site and mobile rides, water parks, inflatable slides, bounce houses and attractions at restaurants and shopping centers, according to the Associated Press.
The last notable injury at the Kentucky State Fair, in 2004, happened when a young man was hit by a ride while crawling in an unauthorized space under it. He was sent to the hospital, but it's unclear how severely he was injured.
Kentucky inspectors want the public to play a safety role and ask anyone who sees an unsafe ride to call the tip line at 502-573-0282.
