![]() The names of the employees were redacted. The slide starter instructed Meador to lie down, cross his legs and lock his fingers behind his head and launched him down the slide, according to the report. The lifeguard was at another slide, waiting for another employee to relieve him so he could open Canyon Plunge. The lifeguard uses hand signals to tell the employee at the top of the ride - the slide starter - to send a rider down.Īccording to the Labor Department report, the slide starter at the top of the ride arrived at his post before the lifeguard at the bottom was there. Riders usually exit the slide into a trough of water 4 or 5 inches deep that drags them to a stop.Ī lifeguard/attendant is responsible for visually checking the bottom trough area before opening and throughout the day, according to the state report. The drop is steep and straight, and riders must be more than 42 inches tall. It is a body ride, meaning riders do not sit on a tube or pad but ride down on their backs. The state agency, which inspects amusement parks and investigates accidents, did not respond to requests for information and comment for this story.Ĭanyon Plunge is a 150-foot-long uncovered slide built into a hill. Hickey provided the Labor Department accident report and notice of Zoom Flume's violations to the Times Union. He declined to be interviewed for this story because of the impending litigation. Meador, 46, went to the park in East Durham with his family and members of his United Methodist congregations in Coeymans Hollow and Dormansville. Hickey, a lawyer with Martin, Harding and Mazzotti who is filing a lawsuit against Zoom Flume on Meador's behalf. "He has a long road ahead," said Peter J. ![]() Plates and screws are holding his bones in place and he will be in a wheelchair for months. He underwent several surgeries at Albany Medical Center Hospital and finally went home on Sept. Meador broke both heels and multiple bones in his ankles and feet. He exited the slide into a runoff that was nearly empty of water and slammed into a concrete barrier feet-first. The park closes this year on September 6.At 11 a.m., Meador was the first rider of the day. The park’s entranceway will be reconstructed to accommodate the number of people who come to the park. Kerrigan said he plans to add some slides and increase food services in the wave pool area. Work began in September of 2008, he said. #ZOOM FLUME FULL#The full project, which will include the currently unfinished bathrooms and locker rooms, will cost “well over $1 million,” according to Kerrigan. Kerrigan said several local contractors, including Kurt and Mert Excavation, Borweigan Excavation and Holdridge Electricians as well as GNH Lumber, were used for the project. ![]() ![]() The addition created 30 new jobs, Kerrigan said, adding that the park hires all local employees. This, too, has won rave reviews from visitors, he said.Īnd the 21 lifeguards on duty at the pool - five guards are on duty at all times - received additional training beyond that required for other attractions at the park through the American Red Cross and taught by Cairo Ambulance Chief Reay Mahler, he said. #ZOOM FLUME SKIN#The pool’s floor is also lined with vinyl to decrease skin scrapes common with concrete pool floors. “Because it is only four feet deep it is much safer than most pools,” he said. Kerrigan said the shallow depth helps keep visitors safe: older technology for wave pools require pool depths of at least eight feet. ![]() The pool’s maximum depth is four feet and the tallest waves reach a height of two feet, he said. #ZOOM FLUME SERIES#Kerrigan said air pushed through a series of valves into different chambers creates an endless combination of different types of waves. The company advertises that the system alternatively reduces rip currents and energy buildup while creating breaking waves that have the same profile advance as ocean waves.ĪWM developed the PerfectSwell in cooperation with Flometrics Inc., according to the release. with PerfectSwell, a pneumatic system that generates waves that behave like wind-generated ocean swells, according to a company press release. The 16,000-square-foot pool is the first commercial pool built by American Wave Machines, Inc. “It has been a great addition to the park.” Children enjoy the Zoom Flume's new wave pool, which debuted this season. “People really love it,” he said, adding that the pool and nice weather have drawn more people to the park than in years past. Kerrigan said “99.9 percent” of the feedback has been positive. Published in The Daily Mail: Saturday, Aug2:14 AM EDTĮAST DURHAM - The Riptide Cove Wave Pool, which debuted this summer has been a success, according to park General Manager Ed Kerrigan. ![]()
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