According to the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 5,000 children suffer injuries or die every year from falling out of windows. We’ve written before about the importance of securing your windows with window guards and pins, which should be strongly considered even if on the first or second floor.
But did you realize that any window within 18 feet of ground level, a building projection, or a fire escape is considered an accessible opening and needs to be safe guarded to keep kids inside and possible intruders outside? Take a quick walk around your home and look at how many windows meet this condition. Is your family safe?
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We moved into our fifth floor apartment in Brooklyn a year ago, and as mandated by the city all of our windows have guards on them, except for our fire escape window. I cringe to think that our family slept most nights last summer with our bedroom’s fire escape window wide open, which pretty much like an open invitation to home invaders and burglars. It also worried me that my toddler would somehow make his way out there, as happened in our neighborhood two years ago. A toddler climbed out to the fire escape and fell onto a shop’s awning below before falling from that and thankfully being caught by a passerby. Yes, it took us a year but we finally got a FDNY certified fire escape gate installed to protect us all this summer.
The FDNY publishes a list of fire escape gates that they certify, and you can probably find a similar list in most big cities around the country. We went with the Easy Out Gate and it couldn’t have been easier. The company came by to take measurements of our window the same day I called them, and two days later they installed it. Installation took five minutes—they just had to drill the screws into our window frame. It’s quick and easy to open from the inside. (Of course, I’m hoping my toddler doesn't figure that out for a couple of years!) Prices start at $400 depending on the size and type of window you have, but it's worth every cent for the peace of mind and safety it brings.
Our advice: Don't put this on the back burner. Take the necessary steps to secure all your windows today, whether it’s a weekend trip to Home Depot or reaching out to a professional.
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