As you’re enjoying your favorite amusement rides, indulging that craving for cotton candy and funnel cake or watching some spectacle from the grandstand, there is one thing you’re probably not worrying about: Safety. But that’s OK, because there are plenty of other people doing the worrying for you.

Before the Chenango County Fair opened on Tuesday afternoon, inspectors from a variety of state and local agencies had already made multiple rounds of the fairgrounds’ 35 acres, making sure that every vendor and exhibitor had their I’s dotted and T’s crossed. I know, because I tagged along with a few of them.

On Tuesday morning, just a few hours before the fair was scheduled to open to the public, I met up with Jason Lawrence, code enforcement officer and fire marshall extroardinaire, Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo and Firefighters Terry Kuhn and Bob Barnes. Together, we made one last sweep of the fairgrounds.

I followed their lead as, starting near Gate 2 (which I had always mistakenly believed was the main gate), we checked each vendor tent.

“Anything that doesn’t look right, probably isn’t,” Tracy told me, as we checked fire ratings on the tents themselves, made sure each tent stake was capped and even kicked a few tent poles. We checked for combustibles, too.

The rain had caused some set up delays, so when someone wasn’t ready for their inspection, Jason made note so he’d be reminded to come back. Of course, any problems we found were noted as well.

One of the main focuses of our inspection was the electrical side of things. We kept our eye out for inadequate extension cords and checked the breaker box on each electric pole.

Jason and Tracy told me that one of the recurring issues they encounter is vendors removing the breakers installed in the box in order to use their own. In doing so, they often leave uncovered spaces where someone could potentially stick their finger and get electrocuted. Sure enough, that was the case in the very first box we checked. Jason flagged it with caution tape and made note to send the electrician over to have a look.

After the last tent had been checked, we made our way to the indoor exhibition area where local businesses and non-profits exhibit their wares. Again we were checking for unsafe electrical wiring, as well as for the presence of exit signs and fire extinguishers. Well, that’s what they were looking for. Mostly I was distracted by the exhibits themselves, particularly in Floral Hall.