Here is the question of the day:
What do poodle skirts, the cold war, space walks have in common?
Answer:
They all started in 1950’s.
Some History:
Believe it or not, the first inflatable structure was developed in 1959 by a gentleman named John Scurlock. John was designing inflatable covers for tennis courts when he saw his employees jumping on the structures. He also noticed they were having a grand time doing this and had the brilliant idea to market them for children. His original design simply consisted of an oversized air matress, but later the following decade, he added walls to the structures resulting in something similar to the bounce houses you see today.
Commercial inflatable units of today are constructed of a heavy gauge vinyl material sewn together with a strong polyester thread. A continuous inflatable fan or blower is used to inflate the unit. The units are designed to “leak” air through the seams. This leakage requires the continuous blower to keep the unit inflated but also allows for the unit to continue to stay inflated in the case of a seam rip or small tear.
Cheaper units that can be purchased at a warehouse or big box store are made with a lesser grade vinyl, are typically heat sealed together, and may or may not require the continuous blower. These units typically will not last as long, will fade quickly if left in the sun, and can not accomodate a large number of children like their commercial counterparts.
- Inflatable Examples
Inflatable manufacturing has evolved a long way from the days of John’s “Space Walk”. Modern units are designed with themes and bright colors and can be manufactured with multiple features resulting in combination or “combo” units. They can be built as boxing rings, jousting arenas, slides, obstacle course, laser tag arenas, mazes, tents, or even advertising signs! Almost anything you can imagine can be turned into an inflatable and probably has! These units bring out the kid in everybody and are great for a party, a picnic, or just to grab attention!
If you have been around here awhile, you will know that Denver is a small town – at least when it comes to who you know or what people know about you.
Last year, a committee of us met with the State of Colorado as the representation of inflatable operators to discuss House Bill 1103 which would regulate amusement rides by the Division of Oil and Public Safety. One of the top concerns addressed by the bill from the inflatable operators and the State was that there were a number of inflatable operators in the state of Colorado who are operating without any liability insurance. Liability insurance protects the company and provides coverage of damages to the injured party. Our recommendation was to require a standard minimum level of liability insurance to be held by all operators. Unfortunately, House Bill 1103 passed, but was modified to currently exclude inflatable operators due to strict requirements for on site inspections of equipment.
So while granted there are no state requirements to carry liability insurance, you have to wonder – aside from blatenly saving money up front for the owner/operator – who in their right mind would provide this service without this insurance?
Well, as I mentioned in the opening, Denver is small, and news travels fast, and I am disappointed to hear that we still have reasonable sized inflatable companies in town operating without this insurance.
Why should you care? Here is 10 reasons why you should care:
- Essentially, we are offering amusement rides for rent. They aren’t as large and complex as those permanent rides you find at Elitch’s because we have to be able to move them around to get them to your event, but they are still amusement rides none the less, and with that comes potential risk. Would you continue to go to Elitch’s or Water World with the knowledge that they chose to not carry liability insurance simply to improve their own bottom line?
- Assuming your inflatable operator is actually following ASTM standards for setting up the equipment – which basically means Continue reading 10 Reasons to Ensure Your Inflatable Operator is Insured
