Local county fair operators said Thursday they have confidence in the inspection process of amusement rides despite the deadly accident at the Ohio State Fair.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is charged with inspecting all amusement rides, including the state fair ride that broke apart and flung people in the air, killing a man and injuring seven other people. The Fire Ball, operated by Amusements of America, is described as an “aggressive thrill ride” that debuted 15 years ago.

Tyler Jarrell, 18, of Columbus, died and at least two of the injured were in critical condition on Thursday.

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What caused the accident is not clear, and the investigation is ongoing. Meanwhile, the state is in the midst of county fair season.

Dennis Lange, treasurer of the Lucas County Agricultural Society, said he believes state inspectors do a good job at the Lucas County Fair to keep riders safe.

Inspectors don’t just check rides before the fair opens, but they also look at them during setup and have operators run them to make sure there are no mechanical problems.

During the fair, inspectors are on site to monitor equipment, Mr. Lange said. There’s been minor mechanical problems, such as a hydraulic hose break, but nothing such as what happened in Columbus.

“We've not have any major things,” he said.

The Lucas County Fair, which ran from July 11 through 16, uses Lisko Family Midway Amusements out of the Youngstown area as its ride operator, and that group doesn’t have any rides the size of the Fire Ball.

John Vershum, midway director of the Fulton County Fair, which runs from Sept. 1-7, said they use Indiana-based Poor Jack Amusements, and not Amusements of America. Fair officials have been satisfied with Poor Jack’s work, and Mr. Vershum said inspectors often make comments about how well their rides are maintained.

Rides are set up on Monday, but aren’t opened to the public until Friday, giving inspectors four days to ensure safety, he said.

“I don't know what else the state can do to beef up the program,” Mr. Vershum said.

He expressed shock about the accident at the state fair, and said he expected inspectors to give extra scrutiny to similar rides. Fulton, like other county fairs, has rides that swing and spin, but generally not to the scale of rides at the state fair.

When asked if he thought the accident will cause some typical fair-goers to shy away, he said he hoped not.

“I would imagine it would affect some people,” Mr. Vershum said. “But I think people are still going to go to the fairs. There's more than rides in the fairs, and our ride company does very good job at the fair.”

Ottawa County Fair President Mike Libben said the first safety step is to ensure a reputable company is hired to operate the rides. His county uses Cromer Amusements of Ohio. The fair, since it contracts with the ride operator, can shut down operations if there’s concerns, or call in agricultural department inspectors to check on a ride.

The state also asks fairs to do their own checks to keep another set of eyes on the rides.

“Our sympathies are with the victims of this tragedy, and the first responders that are dealing with everything down there,” Mr. Libben said.

Not every fair was eager to talk about safety and inspections. Richard King, fair manager for the Wood County Fair, which kicks off on Monday, referred all questions to ODA, and told a reporter he could not quote him and then hung up the phone.

And Cedar Point, when asked if the state would be doing added inspections or if the company would be doing its own review because of the accident at the state fair, said it had no comment.

“I can appreciate the ask,” spokesman Tony Clark said. “The park does not have the same ride, and it would be inappropriate to comment.”

When asked about the inspection process and whether inspections will be increased in the wake of the tragedy, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said it had received numerous requests for comment and pointed to a statement on the Ohio State Fair website.

“Amusement-ride safety inspection is one of the most important duties at the Ohio Department of Agriculture,” the statement reads. “The safety of guests and visitors to Ohio’s amusement parks, fairs and rides is the department’s top priority.”

The statement says that inspectors receive at least a year of training before working on their own, and that multiple inspectors view each ride.

The state also released inspection paperwork for the Fire Ball ride, which shows both inspection logs by ODA staff showing the ride in satisfactory shape, and maintenance logs by Amusements of America staff.

Records show inspections were up to date and a state permit had been issued for the ride, with passing marks on inspections of about three dozen items.

“Our hearts are heavy for the families of those involved in last night’s tragic accident,” Ohio State Fair officials said in a Thursday post on Twitter. “We have shut down all rides until the state has inspected each and every ride again and deemed them to be safe.”

Officials are investigating what caused the accident. Michael Vartorella, Ohio’s chief inspector of amusement ride safety, said the Fire Ball was inspected three or four times before the fair opened.

Riders on the Fire Ball swing back and forth while they also spin. Dutch manufacturer KMG said there are 43 of the rides, and none has had a serious malfunction before.

Information from The Blade’s news services was used in this report.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at nrosenkrans@theblade.com, or 419-724-6086 or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.

First Published July 27, 2017, 8:50 p.m.