Battalion Chief Jim Madisen's smile tells the story at 3:15 p.m.: Everybody's safe
When it comes to memorable parties, this year's Downtown Racine Party on the Pavement wins the prize. Not for the food, the art, the music, the excitement as summer ends, but rather as the day the Ferris Wheel stopped -- and leaned a bit -- with close to two dozen kids and parents aboard.
Racine's Police and Fire Departments sprung into action, blocking off Main and Sixth Streets, and calling upon two massive Case front-end loaders to stabilize the wheel, and a big crane from Floyd's Towing and Recovery to provide an additional safety margin against tipping.
It took more than two hours -- the big wheel stopped turning about 12:30 p.m, shortly after the Party on the Pavement began, and the last kids weren't taken off until 3:15. Preliminary reports said the main axle cracked; others said the motor broke. Never happened before... Police Chief Kurt Wahlen said his department will investigate to determine the actual cause.
The rescues were accomplished by the Racine Fire Department, which sent a large platform truck, with a bucket, on one side of Main Street, and the Quint, with a long ladder, from the other. After making sure the Ferris Wheel was stable, firefighters took off the bulk of the stranded riders, one seat at a time. A platform truck from Caledonia removed the last two kids, because Racine's platform truck, at the south side of Sixth Street, was blocked by a streetlight post.
Shortly after the Ferris Wheel stopped...
Stabilized with front-end loaders and a crane...
Firefighters ready the Racine Fire Department's Quint
Attaching a cable from Floyd's crane to prevent the wheel from tipping
The minutes ticked by, but everyone on the Ferris Wheel remained calm
Firefighters made the rescue seem almost routine; everyone was brought off safely
Tanya Wagenaar is helped into rescue platform, after her twins, Nicole and Natalie
Rachel Comande, 9, gets a hug from her mother after her rescue with dad, Nick
Glad to be in mother's arms after her long ordeal aloft
Pleased with success: Police Chief Kurt Wahlen and Mayor John Dickert
Onlookers applauded as the last kids came off the Ferris Wheel
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Dickert's thinking,"Did the ride owners contribute to my campaign? If they didn't, they should."
ReplyDeleteDarn overpaid city workers........... Job well done all involved
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the fire department and everyone involved in the rescue. It was bold, ingenious and most of all, safely done.
ReplyDeleteHear Hear!
ReplyDeleteTwo guys that hate each other acting like they like each other....Racine politics.....I love it!!
ReplyDeleteMore lawsuit monies will be settled out of court on this one. Racine officials should be more careful about letting rickety Ferris wheels sit on city streets for patrons to ride. I see BIG $$$$$$$$$ down the toilet. Wish I had been on that death trap. CHA CHING!!!! Oh the anguish, I cant sleep at night because of this trauma....lol.
ReplyDeleteWe watched the rescue. At first we thought the fire department was putting on a demonstration. In many ways it was a demonstration. Most of the time hundreds of people don't see the work the fire departments do in our community. The use of public works front end loaders, police security, Floyds crane and the various fire rigs show how creative these folks are in handling this type of situations. The wind was really strong so there was clearly special effort to secure the ride before they tried to move people to safety. It was good to see the various professionals come together today to safely rescue everyone. Good job. Everyone involved should be very proud.
ReplyDeleteGood job Plectron. The whole department did a great job.
ReplyDeleteGreat job indeed!!
ReplyDeleteToo bad my taxpayer wallet will be a lot lighter with pending lawsuits. Oh well, it's only money.
Anon, 111:57:
ReplyDeleteWhat lawsuits? When people see that other people do the right thing, I believe they are first of all, forgiving. It's when people act defensively, deny and retreat, that lawsuits come.
My bet here is that everybody just says, "Thanks."
Way to go, everyone!! Glad Caledonia's new truck was helpful.Who owns the ferris wheel?
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the 5th picture down where they are attaching the support rig, you can see that the axel is sticking out about 4 inches (either broken or improperly secured) and that side of the wheel is actually resting on the support pillar.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the difference between an amusing story and a tragedy was about an inch of steel and some very quick thinking.
Whoever the person was in charge of the rides for Party on the Pavement needs to be held responsible for this. Allowing this ride to run under yesterday's very windy conditions was irresponsible and very nearly tragic.
I don't see how the City or P.O.P. should be held responsible neither the City the DRC nor the volunteer in charge of rides is an amusement ride owner or operator, as in most situations you defer to the resident expert like it or not it is the owner operator who should have called it off if it was too windy it may have been the set up or the maintenance but I doubt the wind. I just hope the operator is up to date with all inspections and permits and has good insurance even if no riders sue him the costs involved will be huge.
ReplyDeleteGreat job to all involved! Where are the people who were just bitchin' about how much these men and women are paid?! Well worth what my tax dollars pay them, well worth it! Thank you to RFD, RAPD, CFD, SSFD, and Floyd's! I, for one, appreciate all the efforts!
ReplyDeleteWhat would be great use of my tax dollars would be someone from the city with half a brain to say "It's far to windy to set up a ferris wheel today and put peoples lives in danger"
ReplyDeleteBack in the early 60s, I was on a ferris wheel with my brother & sister when three empty seats below us broke loose. We were stuck on top for over an hour while they fixed them. No one sued, we were all just happy to get off that deathtrap!
ReplyDeleteWhat in blazes was a deathtrap like that ferris wheel doing at Party on the Pavement? Anyone who's researched ferris wheels will tell you that they're dangerous contraptions. To me, ferris wheels are in the same lousy league with fireworks--outmoded garbage guaranteed to cause trouble galore.Everytime I see a ferris wheel I yearn for the legal authority to impound it, destroy it and send the remains to the scrapyard.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Devin and his pals at DRC keep ferris wheels and similar ditzy devices away from from future events. We don't need these obsolete thrillseekers' toys. Besides, adverse publicity (eg. MSNBC) generated by Saturday's ferris wheel fiasco won't boost Racine's reputation. (As it is, my out-of-state friends snicker and sneer at Racine as a tarted up Rustbelt wreck. The near-catastrophe caused by that insane, inane ferris wheel could finish off any vestigial respect they may as yet retain for our municipality.)
ReplyDeleteBecause I love Racine and its residents, I loathe ferris wheels. May the City Council and the County Board ban them a.s.a.p.
ReplyDeleteFerris wheels belong in history's junkyard right beside Marie Antoinette's "Chinese Carousel" and other antediluvian perilous playthings.
ReplyDeleteThe ferris wheel incident is no ad for Racine. At least the latest MSNBC report on it didn't name our town, merely stating that this nasty event took place at "a Wisconsin street festival." (Unfortunately, earlier MSNBC newscasts DID identify Racine as the location. We don't need bad press--let's have no more ferris wheels and other trashy carnival crap in our town.)
ReplyDeleteWho owns this dangerous piece of junk?
ReplyDeleteIt better not be from Murphy Village, SC. That place is home to carnie crooks and cruds with atrocious records.
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest--most carnivals are a plague to any community which tolerates them. It's time to get the rickety carnival rides and the tricky types who operate them out of Racine.
ReplyDeleteDon't take my word for it--ask any cop about carnivals and carnies.
ReplyDeleteI want to know why the media, specifically Hertzberg and Pete from the Post, were allowed to cross the yellow police tape area, essentially compromising the investigation.
ReplyDeleteLast I checked, the media doesn't have a right to do this, so who in "control" let them cross the police line?
I understand that they were simply taking pictures, but there has to be some order and control when dealing with an investigation like this.
I am wondering why Dickert allowed a faulty machine to be used. Doesn't the city inspect these rids before they are allowed to operate?
ReplyDelete9:39 - Yea, Dickert should of gone up and inspected himself - you are an idiot.
ReplyDeleteSeriously speaking, Ferris wheels are dangerous Rube Goldberg monstrosities which serve no useful purpose. Here's hoping that next year's "Party on the Pavement" will be free from Ferris wheels and other raunchy rides.
ReplyDeleteThe only people who like Ferris wheels are the carnies who own them, the companies which cadge cash to insure them and the ambulance-chasing trial lawyers who whoop for glee when the contraptions malfunction. Then, again, we mustn't omit the national media, whose members push sensational stories in order to titillate their catastrophe-loving clientele. (If memory serves me right, MSNBC ran reports on our nasty incident at least five times.)
ReplyDeleteSir- Dickert is responsible, he is the mayor. If his employees did not inspect the ferris wheel, even though it is required, then it is his fault. He is covering up for his mistake.
ReplyDeleteit would had been nice if the city workers got a thank you. job well done guys.
ReplyDeleteHey that lady in the last picture is putting her hands past the security tape (thats a no no)
ReplyDelete