More on the windows.

I blogged a few days ago about little Laela Shaugobay, who fell from a fourth-floor window in Minneapolis, in part (apparently) due to fire codes that require minimum-sized windows that are easy to open from the inside.

Laela is likely to survive, according to today’s Star Tribune.  She’s a lucky girl. 

But her story highlights some serious problems with the city’s fire code.

The exact circumstances of her fall are unclear to Shaugobay, but she said it appears that Laela had gone to the open window and may have been trying to look out or to put her face against the screen. The window sill is low, coming to just below Laela’s waist.

That’s too low for safety.  That’s also where the window sills are in my house, because the city required it.  See my post, which includes pictures of my two-year-old son standing next to the window in his future bedroom.

As she leaned over, the window screen popped out and she fell.

Residents of the Many Rivers apartment complex along E. Franklin Avenue have expressed concerns that the window screens in the building are too loose.

Building officials said they share those worries, and plan to explore efforts to better secure the screens.

According to the previous Strib article, when the building manager had tried to secure the screens (in a different building) prior to the accident, city inspectors stopped him.

Besides, window screens are not meant to prevent a fall. 

There is no city regulation addressing the security of window screens, in part because screens, even if well installed, are not meant to be strong enough to keep people from falling, said Minneapolis Fire Marshal Dave Dewall.

He cautioned residents or landlords who might try to place some kind of barrier, such as security bars, in front of the screens that the city fire code requires any barrier to be easily removed from the inside so that the window is a readily accessible escape route, he said.

Dewall stressed that the best safety measure is simply to stay clear of windows.

And people are supposed to keep their small children clear of windows…. how?   

What about simply keeping the windows closed and locked?  That works for some kinds of windows, but trust me, not all.  My toddler could easily operate the casement windows (again, we were required to put in the casements instead of the originally-planned double-hung windows, by city code) in our bedroom; the only latch or lock is within his reach.

What about training your children to stay away from the windows?  Maybe … but it wouldn’t have helped Laela, who fell from her aunt’s apartment, not her own.