By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN playground contractor says the swing set that collapsed and killed a six-year-old boy in Grand Bahama last week appears not to have been properly installed.

“Based on the pictures I’ve seen, it does look like an issue where the equipment is either not installed, or not properly installed. It’s very important to have the playground properly installed. And so looking at the photos, it appears that that wasn’t the case. It’s unfortunate,” said Cleveland Rolle, operator of Creative Kids Craft and Woodworking Ltd.

Vernal “Zion” Williams was struck in the face by the swing set during lunch break at Caring Hands Academy on Friday. His mother, Cardia Williams, has since called for frequent inspections of school playgrounds.

Mr Rolle, the only licensed playground contractor in The Bahamas who both manufactures and installs commercial equipment, has more than 30 years of experience and has carried out projects in Grand Bahama and elsewhere. He said playground equipment must always be anchored in steel and cement.

“They should always have somebody to check to make sure it meets the standard in terms of the footage. When you do installations, you should dig into the ground, pour cement, or use a peg or put steel and drive it into the ground – it is very important that the equipment is properly installed,” he said.

He warned that too many playgrounds, including some at private homes, lack proper safety checks.

“I think there are a lot of playgrounds around, even at some small homes, that are just sitting on the ground, waiting for an accident to happen,” he said.

Mr Rolle said equipment layout is also critical to preventing accidents and argued that playgrounds should be subject to strict regulations and inspections.

“I think that the ministry has a group of persons that probably would normally go out and inspect to make sure; I don’t know the depth of their equipment inspections. But if there’s not, I think there needs to be an in-depth inspection when it comes to playground equipment.”

He added that his company requires all commercial equipment it sells to be installed to ensure safety.

“We’re not interested in just selling playgrounds. We want to make sure they’re installed properly.”

Mr Rolle said playground installation should involve engineering oversight.

“They should also have some engineering aspect. There’s a lot more that goes into installing playground equipment because there’s all kind of ways that accident can happen. So, it’s very important for it to be regulated,” he said.