
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 6, 1993                   TAG: 9308060033
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Medium

CITIES LOOK AT WINDOW DANGER

From 13 floors up, the only thing that separated 5-year-old Jeffrey Moman from the enticing world below was an open window. He crawled through it, and there were no screens or guards to protect him.

Since April, eight children have fallen from windows in the city and two of them - Jeffrey and another boy - were killed.

The problem is occurring nationwide, say pediatricians and safety experts, but only New York City has mandated window guards.

"Falls from windows are a significant problem for children, not only in Eastern cities, but throughout the nation," said authors of a recent study that found that 151 children fell from buildings or other structures in Los Angeles County between 1986 and 1990.

One child died and 15 were neurologically impaired; and hospital costs were $5,000 to $8,000 for each child, the authors reported in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Another study, in Washington state, found that 113 children were hospitalized after falling out of buildings there in 1989 and 1990, according to a report in Pediatrics.

Since New York began its window-guard program in 1976, the number of annual falls has dropped from 159 to 49, said Charlotte Spiegel, who headed the city's program.

Last week, estimating that 70 people die each year in falls from windows, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued its first window safety alert, recommending metal guards where local codes permit.

"We try to warn the public when we see a hidden hazard," commission spokesman Ken Giles said Thursday. "It's surprising to people that it happens as often as it does."

The Chicago Housing Authority oversees public housing units, where six falls - including Jeffrey Moman's fatal plunge on July 18 - occurred.

The falls from the authority's buildings have prompted the agency to accelerate a modernization program that will put window guards in all of its 130 high-rises. That includes spending $1.2 million to install them by September at the Robert Taylor Homes, the site of three falls.

Falls typically occur in summer in low-income housing with no air conditioning. The Los Angeles County study found that almost half of falls were in low-income families; only 9 percent were in winter.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB