This is a transcript from the Gothenburg Post.
Published September 28 2009
"We shouted that it was burning"
After riding the Carousel and Flume ride, Carolina Bengtsson and Jennica Arvidsson decided to go on something a little more exciting. They chose Balder. It became a horror trip.
They had travelled from Halmstad and Laholm this Saturday just to go to Liseberg. They sat in the second car in the train on Balder.
- Just when we rolled out of the station, we felt that it smelled a bit of smoke, says Carolina Bengtsson. But we thought no more of it.
Just as the train engaged the lift-hill a 10 cm tall flame appeared, a few centimetres from Jennica Arvidsson's feet. The fire came from the case surrounding the bottom of the safety bars.
They screamed that it burns, but no one, except for the closest passengers, heard it. The train wasn't stopped.
- We rode the whole ride while Jennica trod and trampled to extinguish or at least dampen the flames.
When they arrived at the station they had to wait. Since the second train was in the way.
- We shouted that it was burning, but no one on the staff heard anything, just a guy in their 20s who stood in the queue. He jumped over to the train, grabbed a water hose and extinguish the fire. Only then did the staff come, and they took over the hose and helped.
According to Daniel Lindberg chief attractions at Liseberg it was the other way around. The staff responded immediately when they heard cries from the incoming train, stopped the outgoing train, checked what had happened, establish that it wouldn't be dangerous to extinguish with water, whereupon they took the hose.
- Then the guest arrived from the queue and took over to finish it of until it was clear, let the hose lie and left, argue Lindberg.
According to Lindberg the smoke was not visible on any of Balder's cameras, that covers the ride from start to the end. Neither were there any unusual passenger behaviour.
The women were not allowed out of their seats right away. The process began at the end of the train.
- Very strange that they did not take us first, thought Carolina.
This is because safety design according to Lindberg. It is just inside the station as the electrical connection is needed to open the restraints. In standby mode, it is necessary to get the standalone unit, which they also did. And according to the Liseberg safety routines, they unloaded the passengers from the rear.
Neither Jennica Carolina or were burned by the fire, which was due to a normal lighter, the type of plastic containers and small parts of lighters in the metal, had been stuck in the restraint mechanism.
- It had melted, "says park manager on duty Susanna Eckerstein.
Several other passengers were shocked by the incident. Some 20 were taken care of and got to talk to the staff. The car was taken out of service. After an hour break Balder went back to normal.
Carolina and Jennica went and sat on a bench in a quiet location.
- We were jittery at first but it was not until we sat there in shock came up with us. We were seated for half an hour before we went and ate. Only then it came that we should contact the Liseberg management, but then thought that it might become a bit late.
Daniel Lindberg regret that women did not contact the staff.
- We want them to do that now. We'd love to talk to them.
. I can't imagine how I'd react though.. You saw me with the roman candles 
