CRANDON, Wis. — Eight people, including seven children, were suspended upside down for nearly three hours Sunday on a roller coaster ride at a Wisconsin county festival, authorities said.
The fairgoers were riding the “Fireball” roller coaster at the Forest County Festival in Crandon when it suddenly stopped, WAOW-TV reported.
The Antigo Fire Department responded to a call at about 2:06 p.m. CDT about a “tipped-over carnival ride,” according to WSAW-TV.
Antigo Fire Department was brought in because the Crandon Fire Department did not have the proper equipment needed to perform the rescue which has community members calling for updated equipment. https://t.co/lPll2Hewpa
— News 9 WAOW (@WAOW) July 3, 2023
Capt. Brennan Cook of the Crandon Fire Department told WJFW-TV said an initial investigation pointed to a malfunction.
“All we know that there is a mechanical failure with the ride where it became stuck in the upright position the ride was recently inspected by the state of Wisconsin here on site,” Cook told the television station.
Antigo Fire Department spokesperson Lt. Adam Finn said that his agency was called because Crandon’s fire department did not have the proper equipment to perform a rescue, WAOW reported.
“Crandon did not have a ladder at all, so that’s why they needed our ladder to assist with that,” Finn told the television station.
All eight people were safely removed from the ride by 5 p.m. CDT, WSAW reported.
“They did all very well,” Erica Kostichka, an emergency medical technician for the Antigo Fire Department, told the television station. “Obviously, they were scared. They had been upside down for quite some time.”
“A rescue mission is not something that’s quick. Life safety is number one.”
Resident Scott Brass told WAOW that Crandon’s fire department needed more equipment.
“If our department had that kind of truck, we could have had that down an hour beforehand, but I know things are expensive,” Brass told the television station. “But it’s needed not just for days like today, but for fires in big buildings. What are you going to do?”
There was no information about potential injuries, WJFW reported.
