Fear Fest remains closed after safety code violations
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia's Fear Fest Haunted House has made no official announcement about whether or not it will be operating this Halloween season after racking up 15 safety violations during the Boone County Fire Protection District's annual inspection.
According to the inspection documents from the Boone County Fire Protection District, the violations spanned multiple categories.
Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp said most Halloween attraction inspections take place in July, giving vendors time to make corrections. Fear Fest's inspection was done on Oct. 2.
"We got a request for the inspection late in the season, like right before he wanted to open and unfortunately, these issues that were found or these issues that need to be corrected have not been able to be done," Blomenkamp said.
Blomenkamp said many of the violations were due to general upkeep issues and yearly wear and tear.
Seven violations were related to emergency exits, with the inspector finding emergency exits obstructed, not well marked, and one exit opening inward, increasing the risk of attendees being stuck in an emergency scenario.
Four violations focused on risks during an emergency situation. The inspector found that there were not enough fire extinguishers, there was no key box for first responders to use during an emergency, and that the building itself is older and more susceptible to fire.
Three violations broke electrical safety codes, with the building's electrical box being difficult to access, the electrical room was not marked, and extension chords were being used inside in place of permanent wiring.
"When I find extension cords that are cracked, frayed, brittle, wrapped around trees, zip-tied to metal, things that could cause an electrical issue, those are immediately life safety issues, and those have to be taken care of," Blomenkamp said.
The last violation was on the building not having a visible address from the road.
"If I walked into any business today in the fire district and saw these conditions, I would shut that business down until they were repaired," Blomenkamp said. "We're not doing anything different than we do for any other customer out there, we've got to keep our public safe."
In response to a Facebook comment asking if it will reopen, Fear Fest said it is working to open this weekend.
According to its Facebook page, Fear Fest will be issuing refunds to anyone who purchased reservations.
Blomenkamp said that the next step for Fear Fest is to present a plan to the department on how it will fix the violations. The plan must be organized by an architect or engineer. Once approved, Fear Fest can update their attraction and apply for reinspection.
"I'd be happy to get him open," Blomenkamp said. "It's my job to help these business owners and it's my job to help them get their businesses open, and that's what we're here to do, so the ball is in their court."
ABC 17 News reached out to Fear Fest.
