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| The toddler fell into a planting bed like the ones in this photo, directly across from the fire station |
By Diane Hettrick
On Friday, August 11, 2017, a three year old boy named Michael fell out of a second story window from an apartment at the Arabella, 17763 15th Ave NE in the North City business district of Shoreline.
He survived with only minor injuries, although he was transported to Children's by a Medic unit to be checked out.
A close friend of the family provided the rest of the story.
Michael's mother has been in a very serious car crash. She has broken ribs, whiplash, and a concussion. Out of town family members are there are assisting her. She is in considerable pain.
Michael had been put to bed, tucked in, and given his last sip of water.
Family didn't realize the window was even opened. It's not their home so no one had any idea he would get up, let alone lean on the screen.
"The windows are super low, and there are no safety locks at all. The only ventilation is by opening a window. Unfortunately they can't just open it and lock it at a two inch space."
Michael leaned against the screen and it popped right out. He fell two stories.
Some of the Arabella windows are right over the sidewalk. His window is over a landing, filled with dirt and shrubbery, and that's what he landed on.
Not only that, the apartment is directly across from the North City fire station. Fire fighters actually saw him fall. They ran across the street and began attending to him immediately.
The very next day, the friend purchased and installed window locks to prevent this from happening again.
Fire departments often try to warn people about the dangers of windows. Screens are not built to resist weight. In this article from Safe Kids Snohomish County, they point out that every hardware store carries locks which can be easily installed to prevent windows from opening accidentally.
The friend wants people to know about this danger and the easy prevention of locks. "No child should be stuck in that situation again."
Update: Shoreline Fire has some window guards for free. They allow the window to open 4 inches and no more.
Is it too much to hope that landlords renting apartments to families with children would install the window locks?
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