On Saturday. October 2 at approximately 12:48 p.m., Racine Engines 1, Truck 1, Rescue 1, Special Teams 1 and Command Unit 41 responded to a report of people trapped on a Ferris wheel at a downtown street festival.
Firefighters were faced with a Ferris wheel that had gone out of alignment and was leaning slightly to the side.
Fire crews utilized two DPW front end loaders to stabilize the Ferris wheel from the front and rear, and a heavy duty tow truck with a crane to secure it from any further leaning. This process took about two hours.
Once the Ferris wheel was stabilized, firefighters spent about an hour utilized two tower ladders and a ground ladder to remove 17 people, mostly children from the ride.
No injuries were reported from the incident.
Racine Police confiscated the Ferris wheel until a state inspector could view the ride.
