FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – The month of March enters like a lion here with forceful winds reluctant to retreat until late spring. When a gust of wind hits a backyard trampoline here, the outcome can be unpredictable and dangerous.
“If a resident does not secure their trampoline properly, wind can lift the trampoline off the ground and through the air at such a trajectory, and it can damage everything in its path,” said Mike Grayson, Mountain Vista Communities (MVC) housing maintenance supervisor. “The Resident Handbook & Community Guidelines lists safety measures to apply when installing a backyard trampoline.”
Of note, trampoline owners are financially responsible for any damages a rogue trampoline destroys on its airborne journey. Therefore, it behooves all to adhere strictly to the handbook about policy and safety guidelines.
“Each trampoline kit comes with a five-to-six-point stake system to anchor into the ground,” Grayson said. “Here, anchoring with the stakes is not enough. We found that what ultimately works is sandbags.”
He recommends using the stakes provided in the kit then reinforcing them with weighted sandbags to anchor the stakes securely.
Grayson also warns residents against anchoring the trampoline to the backyard fence.
“I have seen sixteen feet of fencing get torn from the ground by a trampoline in a windstorm,” he said.
Each year, five to ten windswept trampoline incidents happen in the housing community here, and MVC reminds residents of the safety requirements.
“Trampolines here must have a tag with the owner’s name, address and phone number,” said Katrina Baxendale, MVC resident and trampoline owner. “In case an incident where the trampoline is displaced should occur, the owner can be notified.”
Baxendale also works at the MVC maintenance office which offers resources to help residents comply with the resident handbook instructions.
“We bought our sandbags at the local hardware store and filled them with rocks and sand from the maintenance office here which all residents have access to,” she said.
Baxendale has ten sandbags weighing her family’s trampoline safely and securely to the ground.
For more about trampolines in Mountain Vista Communities neighborhoods at Fort Huachuca, see Page 33 of the Resident Handbook & Community Guidelines at https://www.mountainvistacommunities.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/MVC-Resident-Guidelines-and-Community-Handbook-5.pdf.
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM)/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 964 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.
We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/
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