3-Year-Old Survives Fall From Third Floor Window

Keep Reading ↓

Sgt. Darren Tynan of the Hackettstown Police Department says it’s a miracle…

A 3-year old- girl from Hackettstown, Warren County is very lucky to be alive after she fell out of a third story window.

“When the officers first arrived on scene, they did observe a child lying on the ground. Her mother was by her side,” said Tynan.

It happened on Friday around 4:30 p.m. Officers said they checked to make sure that the little girl was conscious and the only injuries they could see were some scrapes to the girls face.

“These types of falls, you don’t know if there’s any type of internal injuries,” Tynan said. The three-year-old was initially taken to Hackettstown Medical

The three-year-old was initially taken to Hackettstown Medical Center, but was later airlifted to to Morristown Medical Center.

“As of today, she has been discharged from the hospital,” said Tynan.

Police said that they are still investigating the incident, but it appears that the child’s fall was an accident.

“It is a miracle that this child is alive and didn’t sustain more serious type injuries,” said Tynan.

Tynan said that this incident should act as a reminder to parents. “Make sure that windows are secured properly and that they have the right protection so that incidents like this don’t happen,” he said.

Each year in the US, window falls account for approximately 12 deaths and 5,000 injuries to children under the age of 10

Common injuries include broken bones, head/brain injuries, and soft tissue injuries.

Due to their larger and heavier heads, young kids under the age of 4 are most likely to suffer head/brain injuries , making them twice as likely to die from a window fall than older children.

Young children are fearless and curious and their depth perception is not fully developed yet. Children love to look outside and want to see what’s going on. It is important not to place furniture, or anything else children can use to climb, in front of a window. In most reported incidents, a young child climbed up onto something gaining access to the window.

Don’t have a false sense of security if a window screen is present. In 80% of window fall incidents, a screen is present. Window screens are designed to keep bugs out, not children in. When pressure or weight is applied to a screen it can easily pop out and therefore, it and the child could fall out resulting in serious injury or even death.

Children should never be left unsupervised near any open windows. They should be taught to play a safe distance away from windows (i.e. a “2 giant step” rule). During any kind of running, jumping or innocent, rough-housing play, a child could accidentally fall out of an unprotected window.

Window protection

When not in use, windows should be locked using the built-in locking mechanism. If possible, open windows from the top for ventilation. If a window must be opened from the bottom, use the “no more than 4 inches” rule, only opening the window up to 4 inches.

Another consideration to keep in mind is, in the event of a fall, what is the surface below the window? Even though an injury could result from any type of surface, harder surfaces do pose a greater chance of serious injury. You may want to plant bushes or shrubs under a window that could ‘soften’ a fall.
We all want to protect our children, but we need to do it in a safe manner. Avoid the’ handy man tricks’ and only install window safety devices that meet ASTM standards.

These products help protect children from falling out and they have quick release mechanisms to not entrap people in the event of an emergency.

While there is no substitute for proper supervision, young children are quick and unfortunately injuries can happen in an instant. By using these window safety tips, you can prevent window falls in your home.

By using these window safety tips, you can prevent window falls in your home.