Ride that malfunctioned at Ohio fair banned in Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued an order Wednesday banning all Fireball amusement rides, manufactured by KMG, from operating within the state. 

A Fireball ride owned by Amusements of America malfunctioned on Wednesday at the Ohio State Fair, leaving one dead and seven others injured. 

As of Thursday afternoon, the Fireball was still listed among those to be featured at the Tennessee State Fair in September. North American Midway Entertainment provides rides for the state fair. 

"(The company) is waiting until the investigation finds out what happened with that ride, if it was fatigue to the metal, bolts or whatever," said Scott Jones, manager of the state fair. "Everyone that owns one of those rides probably should err on the side of caution until they find out what caused it ... until they find out for sure if it was something with the ride itself of just a freak accident." 

The order will remain in effect until further notice, and the decision to prohibit the Fireball ride from operating mirrors similar orders in California, Indiana and Kentucky.

Amusements of America also provides rides to the Wilson County Fair. The state’s Amusement Device Unit is notifying the operator they will not be able to bring that device to the fair in September.

Randall Clemons, a spokesman for the Wilson County Fair, said it will continue to use the company, Amusements for America, for its fair next month, running Aug. 18-26.

"The Wilson County Fair, Lebanon, TN is very saddened about the accident at the Ohio State Fair," Clemons said in a statement. 

"Amusements of America is a carnival that has been in business since 1939 and has been our carnival since 2008. They have a strong safety and inspection program. We plan to continue to work with Amusements of America to provide the safest amusements rides possible."

Last year, three girls were hospitalized after falling three stories from a Ferris wheel basket that overturned at the 67th Annual Greene County Fair in Greeneville. 

The parents of two of the girls filed a lawsuit against the ride, Family Attractions Amusement Company, on July 18, alleging that negligence and the ride's state of disrepair led to the incident. 

In December, the Greene County Fair terminated its contract with Family Attractions Amusement Company and selected a new company to take over carnival rides.

Reach Elaina Sauber at esauber@tennessean.com, 615-571-1172 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.