Riders stuck upside down for hours on ride at Wisconsin county festival
CRANDON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A scary scene at the Forest County Festival in Forest County, Wisconsin.
Video shared by Scott Brass shows a ride -- the Fireball -- in Crandon, stuck hanging upside down for more than four hours.
Antigo firefighters say they didn't know what to expect when they got the call for mutual aid about people who were stuck on a ride.
When they got there, they jumped into action.
"We had about a 35 to 40 minutes travel time, so during that time obviously the anticipation is building," said City of Antigo Fire Department Firefighter/EMT, Erica Kostichka.
When they arrived, they found eight people, seven of them kids, stuck on the circular, up-right Fireball ride.
"The ride had malfunctioned and we had people who were upside down," said Kostichka.
Kostichka says the City of Antigo Fire Department was called to help because they have a truck with a platform on their aerial. She was the one who walked everyone down after they were removed from the ride onto their truck's platform.
"You know a lot of [the kids] you could tell, their legs were shaking, they were sweating, and it was just a matter of letting them know hey this is no race to get down to the finish line, the hard part is over," said Kostichka, "they were very brave."
"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 and at this time, we do not have any other information," said Captain Brennan Cook, Crandon Fire Department.
Kostichka says she's thankful everyone went home safely.
"It's always a great opportunity when you can work with other agencies and it flows good, and the outcome comes out the way it was," said Kostichka.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, all amusement rides need to be inspected daily before operation.
All passengers were taken to the hospital to be checked out.