LANCASTER, NH (MyFoxBoston.com) -- New Hampshire officials have identified a father and daughter who died when a circus tent collapsed during a thunderstorm Monday.
Investigators remained on scene at the Lancaster Fairgrounds Tuesday evening, trying to determine if that tent was structurally sound when it fell on top of 100 people. Robert Young, 41, of Concord, VT and his 8-year-old daughter Annabelle both lost their lives.
If the circus pulled the right permit, it would have triggered an inspection by the appropriate agency. Walker Bros. was also supposed to monitor the weather conditions in that area, the New Hampshire Fire Marshal is now investigating whether that happened as well.
The NH State Fire Marshal is investigating whether cutting corners lead to tragedy at the circus.
Fire Marshal William Degnan says local and state authorities were unaware the Walker Brothers Circus had set up shop in Lancaster this past week.
"The circus did not have a place of assembly permit. And, that's one of the things that we're looking into," Degnan said.
The permit would have triggered an inspection, safety officials here in Massachusetts say you can't overstate the importance of the protocol that would have placed a second set of eyes on this steel structure.
Robert Anderson from the Mass. Department of Public Safety said, "The two main things that can go wrong is excessive wind speeds that may cause the tent to collapse, or perhaps a fire."
He went on to say the permit application process ensures a tent a certain level of fire resistance and that the engineering will resist certain wind loads.
We called Walker Bros. to ask about the protocols they had in place. They have not returned any calls.
The state fire marshal says they are reviewing the statutes to see if failing to pull a permit for this tent is a criminal violation.
The circus released a statement on their Facebook page on Wednesday, saying that they were "deeply saddened by the tragic chain of events."
Cox Media Group
