Window Safety Checklist
Preventing falls out of windows is as important as learning how to use one in an emergency. Unattended children run the greatest risk of falls and injuries, so the best first step is to watch your children as they play. Nothing can substitute for careful supervision.
ˆ Windows provide a secondary means of escape from a burning home. Determine your family’s emergency escape plan and practice it. Help children learn to safely use a window during a fire.
ˆ When performing spring repairs, take care to
make sure that your windows are not painted or nailed shut. You must be able to
open them to escape in an emergency.
ˆ Keep your windows closed and
locked when children are around. When opening windows for ventilation, open windows
that a child cannot reach.
ˆ Set and
enforce rules about keeping children’s play away from windows or patio doors.
Falling through the glass can be fatal or cause serious injury.
ˆ Keep
furniture - or anything children can climb - away from windows. Children may
use such objects as a climbing aid.
ˆ
If you
have young children in your home and are considering installing window guards
or window fall prevention devices, be aware that the window guards you install
must have a release mechanism that can open them for escape in a fire
emergency. Consult your local fire department or building code official to
determine proper window guard placement.
ˆ Windows
that have window guards, security bars, grilles or grates already covering
their windows are useless in an emergency if the devices on them do not have a
functioning release mechanism. Time is critical when escaping a fire.
ˆ Do not
install window unit air conditioners in windows that may be needed for escape
or rescue in an emergency. The air conditioning unit could block or impede
escape through the window. Always be sure that you have at least one window in
each sleeping and living area that meets escape and rescue requirements.
ˆ
Shrubs and
soft edging, like wood chips or grass, beneath windows may lessen the impact if
a fall does occur.
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