Police issue summer reminder to keep children safe from open windows

ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) – It’s something we hear about every summer and according to police, you can take steps to prevent a child from falling out of an open window.

“Last summer during the hot months, 17 children fell out of windows in BC,” Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich says. “American statistics show 5,000 children fall out of windows in a typical year in all of the United States.”

He adds it’s not unusual for children to fall from dangerous heights in Abbotsford about two or three times a summer.

As temperatures hit highs and things heat up around the province, you may feel the need to open all the windows in your home. The key is to make sure you are taking the necessary precautions to keep your kids safe.

“You have to either lock the window with four inches or less, or you’ve got to put in an actual — and you can buy these things — a child-proofing set of bars on the window if you want to have it wide open,” Rich explains, adding these devices can be bought at any hardware store.

And no, a screen isn’t enough. Rich says it can give people a false sense of security.

“A bug screen is good for keeping bugs from going in the house, but it does not stop a child from going out a window.”

Abbotsford Police responded to a call involving a two-year-old who fell from a second-storey window this past spring. Thankfully, the child wasn’t badly hurt.

That same month, Richmond RCMP also responded to reports of a toddler falling from a window. The child — under the age of two — was in serious condition.

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