Jumping Castle Safety
Sudden Castle Deflation
Any company or service operating within the children’s party and entertainment industry should have safety as an absolute priority and we at Bounce O Rama have this at the forefront of every single booking we attend. We are HUGE advocates of play and acknowledge and reinforce that it is the responsibility of the business – whoever you have hired from - to ensure they have set up the equipment correctly to allow a safe play environment during your hire.
In this article, we wanted to address the main points regarding sudden castle deflation and how we mitigate the risk of this particular issue.
Have a read below and let us know……How do your previous suppliers compare?
Blowers
We use only the highest quality, most reliable blowers on the market – B-Air.
B-Air are Headquartered in Azusa, California, with a reliable network of distributors throughout the world and take pride in manufacturing quality equipment for the inflatable, water damage restoration, pet and animal industries. Their innovative products are manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities reflecting their continuing dedication to design, performance, and safety.
We chose B-Air due to their higher quality products and design. Our 1.5Hp blowers are water resistant and produces 1290 CFM, delivering 9.8 inches of static pressure and remaining at a low 8.8 amp draw - similar to that of a vacuum cleaner!
Have you ever purchased an imitation electrical product (think: hairdryer, charger) only to find that when you’re using it, the power drops sporadically? It happens mostly when poor quality connections are used and is the main suspect in situations like sudden castle deflation.
Check in with your castle supplier – what blowers do they use? Are they certified ETL and CE approved?
Extension Leads and “Locking” feature
All of our varying lengths of extension leads are rated EXTRA heavy duty for outdoor use. They also come with a very handy and unique lead lock feature which reduces the risk of leads being pulled apart either from trips, curious hands or sudden tugs - meaning more reliable, continuous power and less risk!
Lead Covers
In addition to using the inbuilt lead clamp on our extension leads, we add an extra layer of safety by using cable covers. These are designed to secure the plug and socket connection between leads and appliances (our blowers) for safety around children and uninterrupted usage. With an IP44 (Ingress Protection) weatherproof rating, it’s also suitable for use outdoors and overnight to avoid any moisture from sudden showers, water spray or morning dew.
Winning!
Generators
Where direct power outlets aren’t available (public parks, spaces, outdoor events or even during backyard hires where power is further than 25m away) we have the ability to use our inverter generators.
We chose inverter generators because they use innovative technology to transform DC power into AC power with high frequency. The process of transforming the power from DC to AC eliminates any power fluctuations that normally occurs in conventional and older models of generators, making the power source and run time more reliable. While the standard generators operate with constant speed, the inverter generators can adjust the speed according to the power requirements.
Castle Design
A pretty significant safety factor to consider on the risk of sudden castle deflation is the structure and design on the castle itself.
For example: Is it open-roofed? If not, does the roof have a zipper for operators or civilians to access in order to assist children in evacuating should the castle suddenly deflate? You can find zippers on the YELLOW nylon roofs of our Princess Combo, Pirate Party Combo, External and Internal Modular Combos, Balloon Bounce and our Superhero Combo too. These are operational from both INSIDE the castle as well as externally so any older children, parents inside the castle or operators can access these and unzip to evacuate.
Many of our castles are designed with an open roof too. This wasn’t only for aesthetic purposes - but for safety. In the event of a sudden deflation, the walls of our open roof castles will collapse in on themselves leaving the jump pad relatively open for children to climb free of the castle.
In addition to this, all straightened tubes at the rear of castle (these supply the structure with the constant airflow from our blowers) have a flap that should the blower or power fail, the air in the internal structure tries to escape and forces this flap to close, allowing less air out – slowing the deflation of the castle.
Operators
All of our operators are trained on the importance of safety, risk analysis and hazard control.
Our Director has worked with children for nearly 15 years, including as an Early Childhood Educator, so understands the importance of constant supervision, continuous scanning of the environment as well as risk and hazard reduction through proper setup and quality equipment.
When you have booked us in to operate the castles at your event, our main priority is safety and supervision. This includes but is not limited to:
- Scanning the environment for potential hazards
- Constant supervision of our equipment
- Continuous checking of equipment and castle such as blower tube, sandbags, pegs, soft fall mats
- Crowd control and rider limit management
Accidents can, will and do happen. While it is our goal to avoid these at all costs, as with anything else in life, they will occur. But it is how we avoid, reduce and manage these accidents/incidents that sets us apart.
Next time you hire a jumping castle, ask the company how they mitigate risk. Ask them what safety equipment they use and if they have a Risk Assessment on file. We do! If you need a copy, please just ask.
If your jumping castle supplier hasn’t invested in quality equipment, training and safety – ask yourself: why would you invest in them?
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. You can get in touch either by using the “Contact Us” tab in our menu or call us on 0448 126 828. We are always happy to help.
The Bounce O Rama Crew