How Safe Are Your Windows?

The terrible fall of a six-year-old girl who tumbled five metres onto concrete in Sydney’s south on the weekend underscores the importance of a critical area in building and construction as well and in the maintenance of residential dwellings: how to safeguard windows and prevent child falls.

The girl, who fell through a flyscreen, suffered facial injuries and a fractured arm and had to be taken to Randwick Children’s Hospital.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. In February, a five-year-old boy was left in critical condition after falling 10 metres from a window in Sydney’s west.

Indeed, in New South Wales alone, Australian Medical Association (AMA) Councillor Associate Professor Brian Owler says around 50 children are admitted to hospital after falling from windows and balconies each year, with head and brain injuries being the most common form of damage.

Owler says the vast majority of parents makes genuine attempts to provide safe environments for their children but adds that sometimes this isn’t enough.

“Children are inquisitive, resourceful and unpredictable,” Owler says. “It takes moments for them to pull a chair over to a window.”

Owler notes that houses and apartments need to be designed and constructed in a way which prevents accidents from happening. Toward this goal, he says, progress is being made courtesy of a successful modification to the National Construction Code from May 2013, which calls for...

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