Tonight. Safety experts are highlighting the dangers associated with inflatables after a valley toddler died when a gust of wind picked up the bounce house that he was playing in. Good evening. And thanks so much for joining us for 12 news at 10. I'm cutting the divine. I'm Mark Curtis. We first told you about the tragic accident yesterday and now we're hearing from experts about what you can do to avoid anything like this ever happening to your family. 12 news journalist Gabriela Bacara is in studio and uh gabby, this is just heartbreaking uh for that family. What do other families need to know? Well, Mark Ree, the most important thing to pay attention to is the wind, the American Society for testing and materials says a bounce house should not be used when wind speeds are greater than 25 MPH. And this is the way we do it. Every bounce house comes with a set of safety rules, things can happen. The most important rule is securing it to the ground. Get this one bounce pro A Valley party. Rental company uses a combination of sandbags and stakes to get the job done it's too windy, start raining, turn it off. But even with these precautions, the company warns jumpers to get out when wind speeds are faster than 15 MPH, you must turn it off. It's dangerous and it's a liability. Your Children is inside. Experts say wind plays a vital role in many of the accidents reported every year including an incident in Casa Grande. Saturday afternoon, two kids were playing in a bounce house when a strong gust of wind carried the inflatable into a neighboring lot. Two year old Bodi KNF died from his injuries. The wind has more power than you think it does. A 2022 University of Georgia study found bounce house injuries and deaths are more likely to happen when the weather is calm and least expected. A large percentage of these cases where the wind picked up or knocked over a bounce house happened on days when the wind was really not that strong states with the most documented incidents don't have regulations. According to the study, Arizona does not have any guidelines or excludes inflatables from regulations. I'm concerned that you know, these injuries and these incidents keep happening and I'm not a legislator, I'm a scientist, I'm not a policymaker, but I think states and jurisdictions need to think about um what should be done here. Experts agree play can resume when the bounce house is secured and monitored by a weather aware adult wind dies down stops raining here. We've learned the bounce house in the most recent Casa Grande incident was not a rental. The Pinal County Sheriff's Office has not yet answered our questions about how or if it was secured back to you guys. All right, Gabby. Thank you.
