Although a refreshing breeze feels good from an open upstairs window, parents need to guard their small children from tragic falls. Each year in the United States, 15 to 20 children under the age of 11 die and nearly 15,000 are injured falling from open windows.
Child Critically Injured in Fall in Southeast Portland’s Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood
A 3 year old boy who fell from a 2nd story window on Sunday afternoon did not survive his injuries despite the life-saving efforts of medical staff at a Portland hospital on Sunday evening.
On Sunday September 21, 2014, at 3:56 p.m., East Precinct officers responded to Southeast 113th Avenue and Division Street on the report that a small child fell from an upper window. Officers and medical personnel arrived and met the family with the child. The 3 year old boy was then taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Officers learned that the fall actually occurred at a residence in the 2600 block of Southeast 125th Avenue, and that the 3 year old boy fell from a 2nd story window and landed on the concrete below the window.
This tragic accident appears to have been an accidental fall while the child was playing with other children in an upstairs bedroom.
Important Window Safety Tips for Parents
Randall Children’s Hospital and Portland Fire & Rescue offer the following safety tips for parents to help prevent window falls:
- Keep play away from windows.
- Never put a baby’s crib next to a window.
- Only allow windows to open 4 inches and install window stops and/or window guards that can be removed by an adult in an emergency.
- Lock windows when not in use.
- Open windows from the top and use a window stop for the bottom.
- Prevent climbing by keeping furniture and anything a child can climb on away from windows.
- Actively watch children near windows.
- Never move a child who appears to be seriously injured after a fall – instead call 911 and let trained medical personnel move the child with proper precautions.
Window Stop
Mesh Window Guard
