Bangor - Bounce houses are a staple at fairs in Maine, and now there are multiple businesses with those inflatable, springy, air filled party attractions set up year round, indoors.

Today the journal Pediatrics released a report, and the number of injuries across the US in a span of 15 years has increased 15 times.

But is it happening here?

"Some of the potential injuries could be anything from as minor as a bruise to as severe as a concussion and probably most of the injuries are a result of the kids colliding together when they're bouncing too closely together in the bounce house," said Dr. Kristin Thom, D.O.

In a new study in the journal pediatrics studying kids 17 and younger, the injury rate is an average of 30 children treated per day.

The numbers went from 702 ER visits in 1995 to more than 11 thousand in 2010.

But Dr. Thom said she's never seen an injury as a direct result of a bounce house in Maine, and hasn't heard of one either, but suggests parents know how their kids are going to act and react, and then keep an eye on them. "Specific things to watch out for is having one kid jumping at a time so they're not colliding and the impact of the bouncing if a kid bounces here it throws the kid flying from nearby so those would be the most important aspects."

"There's nothing dangerous about it," said Maine Jump owner Ryan Hatch. It becomes dangerous if you go to a facility that is not inspected by the State Fire Marshal."

And those inspections happen regularly.

The lack of accidents here may be because of safety procedures of the business and the watchful eyes of parents.

"But just like trampolines or just with any activity there is going to be inherent risks," said Dr. Thom. "So I think if parents consider the nature of their children; injury prone, or really wild, or have trouble following instructions, if they have trouble accepting supervision, it could be more risky."

Hatch doesn't believe it's any more risky than any other play activity for kids, and he hopes reports like the one in the journal Pediatrics doesn't scare parents. "I think there's always going to be people who are hesitant to any type of activity where a child can get hurt, but it's just like driving down the road in your car, there's a possibility of an accident every day, at least we can go on our track record of a half million guests without incident."

Hatch says any accident is taken very seriously by everyone involved. "If there is an accident that happens at one of these facilities in the state of Maine you are required by law to notify the owner before you leave the facility so that a report is made so that we as owners can contact the State Fire Marshal's Office and the State Police Barracks at that time will shut us down until further inspection."

To see the report visit Pediatrics Website.

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