Home is where the heart is. A place to rest, talk, play and enjoy living and entertaining our family and friends. Windows are extremely important to our quality of life and for that we’re certainly appreciative of their design, efficiency and function. We sometimes only think of the wonderful function of the windows in our homes but it’s always important that we keep window safety top of mind. Read on for safety tips that can help reduce fall and injury risks year-round.
Ways to encourage window safety.
Every day, go the distance to promote window safety and fall prevention in your home. The change of each season is a great time to examine windows for wear and tear and to review your emergency plan (which should include window safety) with your family. If you find that your old windows are not safe and/or operational, you should plan to make necessary repairs and upgrades as soon as possible.
While the industry does a great job on focusing on window safety during the designated window safety week (which happens each April), we firmly believe in educating the community on the importance of window safety on a daily basis. In addition, it is helpful to understand your emergency plan and window safety plan should go hand in hand.
To that end we’d like to encourage you to first review these simple emergency safety steps from the American Architectural Manufacturers Association:
- Make sure that your windows are not painted or nailed shut. You must be able to open them to escape in an emergency.
- Keep your windows closed and locked when children are around.
- When opening windows for ventilation, only open windows that a child cannot reach. If you’re not on the ground floor be absolutely sure all windows are locked for everyone’s safety.
- If your windows have window stops (vent latches) please notes that the vent latches have a release mechanism so that they can be opened for escape in a fire emergency. Consult your local fire department or building code official to determine proper window guard or vent latch placement.
- If your windows don’t have window stops, contact a window professional about getting them installed if your windows will accept the modification. If not, consider replacing them with windows that have this safety feature. You will need to be sure to teach the adults in your home and older children you trust how to manage this safety latch in case of an emergency.
According to the Safe Kids Worldwide 2015 Report to the Nation: Protecting Children in Your Home, about eight children under age 5 pass on each year from falling out a window, and more than 3,300 are injured seriously enough to go to the hospital. The Window Safety Task Force offers these helpful tips to protect children from window falls:
- Avoid the placement of furniture near windows to prevent children from climbing
- Do not rely on insect screens to prevent a window fall
- Keep children’s play away from open windows and doors
- Install building code-compliant devices designed to limit how far a window will open or window guards with release mechanisms to help prevent a fall
- Teach your child how to safely use a window to escape during an emergency
Taking these simple window safety measures can help prevent accidental falls and keep your loved ones safe.
Be sure to inspect your windows and if you find that you need them replaced contact a window expert today. If you’re in our service area and are looking to replace your old windows with safety features contact us today.
We’re so passionate about keeping our kids safe that we’ve added a section on our website dedicated to this important issue. We will continue to spread the word about window safety and we invite you to share in this effort to save precious lives.
