New in NY

Are the window guards required everywhere in the US or is it just in New York that 10-year-olds need to be protected against accidental falls? Now that a small kid fell out of a window in Brooklyn, my landlord has finally woken up and we are going to have our windows covered by black iron bars.

hayley82

Wasn't that awful, I saw it on the news last night. We're just across the river in Hoboken and they can't be required here...we're on the 14th floor and there are huge windows with no guards! And I havn't seen any on other apartments around...hope this will change soon.

NC Penguin

In my building (it's an office tower 17 storeys tall), none of the windows open to prevent accidents like the one you describe.

I also worked in a building in London (not as tall as 17 floors) where one couldn't open the windows either. This was due to some bizarre accident some years before when one of the panes of glass fell out and crashed to the ground. It's an oldish building from the 60s/70s.




NC Penguin

New in NY

Hayley, I am sure that you would not leave a child unsupervised with an open window? I'm just wondering what happened to parents being responsible for their children? Do we need laws for everything?

fatbrit

It's regional. In the SW, the big thing is children drowning in pools. Hence, many cities mandate bars round the pool.

Englishmum

Yet I saw on the TV last night the story about those three boys who died in Brooklyn when they couldn't get out of their window during a fire as there *were* guards at the window! A couple of sisters managed to break the bars of another window and jumped out (fate unknown).

Apparently the oven had been left on continuously for three days during Passover; the family are Hassidic (ultra-Orthodox) Jews and can't turn appliances on or off, so it seems that the oven overheated. (When we lived in North London all of our neighbours were Hassidic Jews but they would have their light switches etc. on a timer when it was the Sabbath.

When we were first looking at apartments in Singapore some of the higher rise ones had huge 'cages' on the balcony and bars at the windows - not only to keep children in, but to prevent the spate of accidents where maids cleaning windows had 'fallen' out. I coudn't contemplate living in a place like that, it would have been like being in a prison and we fortunately found a ground-floor maisonette...we moved a couple of years later when our son was eight to a third floor apartment (without bars) as I was freaked out by snakes (including a cobra which tried to come into the kitchen) at ground level. :scared:

hayley82

No, if I had kids there's no way that I'd leave them unsupervised, however it's such a shame when these accidents happen, makes you want something done about it. I've never seen these bars, do they cover the whole window? What would happen in a fire? Would you be trapped inside?

callé

In some areas of town here in jacksonville you see most windows with iron bars. Only one story but they are to protect from break-ins. Sadly ,every winter people especially children die from house fires when they cant get out.

New in NY

They haven't installed the guards yet, so I haven't seen them, but I believe that they also include a stopper that doesn't allow the window to open above the bars. I hope that there is an option to open it in case of an emergency...

NC Penguin

Didn't Eric Clapton's young son die after falling out a window of a NY building/home/apt?



NC Penguin

hayley82

I know, that's what I was thinking...they are a good idea as long as there is an easy way to get out quickly in an emergency... not too easy so a kid could do it though! A difficult compromise isn't it?

FlyergirlUK

Yes, that's how he died, not sure if it was NY or not.

Terrible stuff...

Franklin

When I was living/working/attending law school in Chicago - the building across the street (Wabash side of my law school, if my memory serves me right) had problems with its windows, one fell into the street and decapitated a mother walking with her small daughter. Was very shocking. The building owner shelled out $18 million to the victim's family. I remember the horror, the little girl had to be separated from her decapitated mother. If I remember correctly, some local construction workers ran to the scene but there was nothing they could do other than aid the little girl who was physically uninjured but very upset. It was a very messy scene.

The owners of the "red building" (not the tallest building by any means in Chicago) fixed the problem ...

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/_.../_s.155/184790

mandpete

Yes he did and I seem to remember that was the reason NY brought the laws in about window guards.

Rete

I live in lower Westchester County, NY and windows guards are not mandatory but offering them to tenants with children is. Each lease renewal comes with a form that the tenant must sign stating whether they do or do not want window guards placed on the windows. There is no additional charge if you say yes.