Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

State Rep. Scibak files window safety legislation

Date: 4/11/2013

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD — With warming weather comes the opening of windows and the threat of children falling through them.

State Rep. John Scibak joined health and safety officials on April 9 at Baystate Medical Center to speak of the dangers of non-secured windows and to talk about legislation he has introduced to address the problem.

Since 2007, BMC has seen 15 children come to its emergency room after falling from windows. All of the injuries were serious and there was one fatality, according to Ida Konderwicz, a Pediatric Trauma coordinator at the medical center.

Nationally, according to Safe Kids USA, about 18 children younger than the age of 10 die annually from falling from a window.

Scibak said his bill would establish an education effort to warn people, take a census of all public housing tenants to determine the level of risk and try to get window guards in place.

"It's a small price to pay," Scibak said. "If we can save one child . then the bill makes a lot of sense."

Mandi Summers, co-coordinator of Safe Kids Western Massachusetts, stressed that screens cannot protect a child from falling through a window and recommended window guards. These devices fit within an open window, allowing air to come in while preventing a child from falling through it.

She said the cost per window ranges from $30 to $50 and the guards are available in hardware stores as well as from online sources.

Springfield Fire Inspector Christian Lewis noted the guards are easy to remove by adults and will not stop a firefighter from rescuing someone through a window.

Programs in New York City and Boston that distributed window guards resulted in a 96 percent reduction in the incidence of widow falls over a 10-year period.

According to Safe Kids USA, parents and caregivers should take these precautions: keep windows locked and closed when not being in use; keep furniture away from windows so children can not climb to the ledge; install window stops so that windows can not open more than four inches; supervise children at all times around open windows; keep curtain and blind cords out of sight; and while its generally safer opening the top pane of double hung windows, older children may have the strength and dexterity to open the bottom pane.

For more information about window safety, fall and childproofing, call Safe Kids Western Massachusetts at 794-6510.