NEW ROADS - State Fire Marshal Bryan Adams wants sweeping changes made to how carnival rides are inspected in Louisiana.

The push follows an accident at the Harvest Festival in New Roads in which two girls were seriously injured after being dumped 20 feet from a Ferris wheel.

Documents obtained by the Investigative Unit show the Ferris wheel in question had passed inspection yearly.

However, Adams takes issue with that inspection process, which, until 2016, used to be the duty of the fire marshal's office.

"The legislature passed some legislation that turned that inspection over to third-party inspectors and those third-party inspectors could actually be employees of the carnivals, and I thought that was a bit of an issue," Adams said.

He says he plans to take back that responsibility in 2026.

"Early part of December, we're going to train 20 to 25 of our people to be NARSO (National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials) inspectors who inspect those carnival rides and do those set-up inspections."

Though the investigation into the Ferris wheel accident is not complete, Deputy Chief Nick Heinen says they know how the accident occurred.

"The door of the tub was apparently open during the ride's operation, and it caught on a moving support called the sweep, and at some point, the two became lodged and the tub inverted and fell over," Heinen said.

The girls who were injured were both under the age of 13. One of them suffered broken bones and the other a brain bleed, according to the Pointe Coupee Sheriff's Office. They are both now recovering at home. 

The owner of Crescent City Amusements, Greg Brooks, admitted to investigators that the potential for riders to be dumped if the door gets caught in the sweep is a well-known manufacturing error that his company is not legally able to change.

Brooks was caught up before when one of their rides stranded riders upside-down for more than three hours in Wisconsin in 2023.

Like the Ferris wheel, that ride had passed inspection days before.

Head of licensing for the marshal's office, David McClintock, says that though these rides may pass yearly inspection, issues can occur during transportation.

"You're talking about a fairly substantial piece of equipment that gets broken down, transported, set up, broken down, transported," he said. 

The question that still needs to be answered is how the door came open.

"The circumstances leading up to that are still under investigation," Heinen said. 

Heinen says they still have people they'd like to interview who are refusing to speak with them.

The Ferris wheel involved in the accident and two others have been placed under 'cease and desists' by the fire marshal's office, meaning they cannot operate in Louisiana until further notice.

However, that doesn't apply out of state.

Adams says he would also like to see a database for rides that have been flagged to be accessible nationwide.