03/07/2018
We would like to point out to our customers, some of whom may have concerns over the tragic incident involving a young girl on an inflatable trampoline in Norfolk. It wasn’t a bouncy castle which exploded but a SEALED inflatable TRAMPOLINE.
We think the fact that it wasn’t a bouncy castle needs to be highlighted because the way in which the two types of inflatable work are completely different.
A blow up mattress, paddling pool or inflating a car tyre are similar to each other in that you inflate the item to the correct pressure then remove the pump and seal it. If you were to leave the pump attached and switched on, the item being inflated would expand and expand until some part fails and the pressure equalises with the atmosphere, usually in a highly destructive manner. We've probably all seen shredded pieces of wagon tyre on the sides of the road after a blow out due to over pressurisation or failures within the construction of the item.
Bouncy castles are not sealed units so cannot expand or over pressurise and therefore cannot explode in the same manner. Bouncy castles and similar inflatables have a constant air flow through them as air is always escaping via the stitching and gaps designed to prevent over pressurisation and therefore cooler air is always flowing.
The unit which exploded was fully sealed rubber so the material would have warmed up in direct sunlight, heating the trapped air inside which then expanded. As the item in the news was a trampoline, it would have been constructed so as to hold a higher pressure to enable users to bounce higher than a typical castle or similar. By design a trampoline needs to be sealed as when a person bounces on a bouncy castle, displaced air is pushed back through the blower and out into the atmosphere. An investigaion could also show a failure in the panel joins within the construction of the trampoline. Ultimatley the result is the same, catastrophic failure of the item.
The unit in question should have either had a pressure release valve fitted or it should have been deflated slightly throughout the morning to allow for expansion as the temperature rose and the day warmed up. There would probably have been a requirement to re-inflate the trampoline as the day cooled down into the evening.
Please share this post so others can understand the difference and what is likely to have happened. Bouncy castles and similar inflatables are not as dangerous as is being made out in the media. All types of leisure can be dangerous if misused or operated in an incorrect manner, so common sense and knowlege are important.
Thank you for taking the time to read our post.
The Dragon Fire Leisure Team.
