Another child has died in the UK as a result of strangulation in window blind cords.

This bring to ten the number of fatalities in the United Kingdom since the beginning of 2010 and 21 since 1999. It’s clear from these statistics that the regularity of these terrible tragedies is increasing despite the concerted efforts of the BBSA (The British Blinds and Shutters Association) with their Make It Safe campaign.

Three year-old Evie Middleton was found in a collapsed state at her home on last Friday afternoon.

Paramedics were unable to revive Evie and she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

This latest death highlights the need for greater awareness of window blind safety.

By Ellen Gabler Chicago Tribune reporter

26 December 2011

A fight to make window blinds safer for children is growing more contentious after manufacturers of the common household product have ignored demands from federal regulators to eliminate exposed cords on window blinds and shades.

The manufacturers, who set standards for their own products, are adopting less-stringent rules that safety advocates say won’t reduce injuries or deaths.

“The industry is clinging to the status quo and is refusing to address this very dire safety issue,” said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety with the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America and a member of a task force drafting the new standards. “As frustrating as it has been, it is even more tragic.”

About one child each month strangles to death on cords of a window blind or shade, according to U.S. regulators. Children can get caught in the cords that hold the blinds together or the cords that are used to pull blinds up and down.

Last summer, safety regulators in the U.S., Canada and Europe told the window covering industry to enact product standards that would eliminate strangulation hazards. Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, gave an October deadline, but the task force, which is heavily influenced by the industry, did not meet it.

Many manufacturers say it isn’t feasible to rid window blinds of accessible cords and think it is impractical to eliminate all risk for any kind of product.

“There’s common sense, and then there’s over-regulation,” said Edward Krenik, a lobbyist for the Window Covering Manufacturers Association.

In a statement, Tenenbaum said the proposed standard from the task force “poses too much risk to the safety of children.” If the standard isn’t strengthened, she said the agency could be forced to pass mandatory standards. But doing so could take years.

Safety advocates and regulators want to rid blinds of cords that children can wrap around their necks, including long operational cords used to pull blinds up and down.

More than 200 children in the U.S. have died in the last two decades from being strangled in window cord-related accidents with blinds and shades, according to the federal safety agency. The annual rate has remained steady, the commission said.

The disagreement over blinds safety standards centers on tweaks suggested by the industry that advocates and regulators say don’t eliminate the strangulation hazard.

One example is what is known as tie-down or tension devices. The pieces, which are sometimes made of plastic, fasten to the end of a looped cord that pulls blinds or shades up and down. The device is supposed to be screwed into the wall or windowsill to hold the cord taut. The blinds can then be moved up and down on a sort of pulley system.

In theory, the taut cord reduces the risk that a child can wrap it around his or her neck. But safety advocates and regulators do not think those devices are safe because they break easily and often aren’t installed correctly.

The industry says that under the new standard, tension devices would have to pass durability tests. Also, they can be made so that if they’re not installed correctly, blinds won’t work properly.

Another proposal would require that a warning label on product packaging say: “For child safety, consider cordless alternatives or products with accessible cords.”

But safety advocates say the warning doesn’t explicitly tell parents not to use the products if children are in the home.

“If their standard is so stringent, why do they have to put the warning on products?” said Linda Kaiser, who founded Parents for Window Blind Safety after her 1-year-old daughter, Cheyenne, strangled in her crib in 2002 from getting caught in the inner cord of blinds near her crib.

The Window Covering Safety Council, which is sponsored by the industry, urges parents to use only cordless blinds in young children’s bedrooms.

Some companies do make blinds with inaccessible cords. The blinds move when someone grasps the middle and pushes or pulls up or down. Springs and a pulley system within the product help it work. Other blinds are made so inner cords are shrouded in fabric so they can’t be pulled out by a child.

Although that technology exists for some blinds and shades, others are too large or heavy to be lifted without cords, according to the industry; in other cases, blinds on extremely tall windows can only be raised or lowered with an operational cord. Plus, the industry notes, cordless technology can add to costs.

But Bill O’Connor, president of B&W Window Fashions in Waukegan, said his company has developed a Roman shade that doesn’t have accessible cords, including a pull cord, and doesn’t cost more to make.

 ”We can’t be that bright. If it’s a better mousetrap, why isn’t it offered as a standard feature?” he said.

Over the years, the window coverings industry and regulators have tried to educate parents about safety hazards, and companies have tweaked products in hopes of making them safer. In 1994, some pull cords with continuous loops were cut to eliminate the loop. Tassels were added to each cord. But the tassels can get tangled.

Regulators and the industry also have tried recalls. In 2009, millions of Roman shades were recalled after regulators got reports of five deaths and 16 near strangulations in the products over three years. Kids were getting their necks stuck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the back of the blind.

But recalls are not noticed by many consumers and don’t always eliminate the strangulation hazard.

Mario "MJ" Williams

In October, 3-year-old Mario “MJ” Williams Jr. died after strangling on a shade in his bedroom. The boy’s 8-year-old twin brothers found him with his chin caught on the inner cord of a Roman shade. MJ had been playing in his bedroom, said his mother, Latoya Collins.

Collins said she and MJ’s father, Mario Williams Sr., had the blinds custom-made after they moved into their new house in Bonaire, Ga., in March 2009.

Collins said she didn’t know Roman shades were part of a recall and had never heard that blinds could be dangerous.

“I would have went and got cordless blinds for his room,” she said. “I never could imagine that a kid could get tangled up in a blind and pass away.”

In the coming months, the window covering industry will continue trying to pass the less-stringent safety standards, which are voluntary for the industry. Regulators and safety groups are often part of the process and give suggestions, but the industry usually has the final say and more input.

In rare cases, government regulators step in and require mandatory standards, which the safety commission’s Tenenbaum has said she would consider.

That process can take years, however, because regulators are required to do an extensive cost-benefit analysis of any standard. To issue mandatory safety requirements, regulators have to prove that the voluntary ones won’t cut the risk of injury or that most manufacturers aren’t following them anyway.

A mandatory standard also might not get approval from the full commission, which is down to four commissioners after the retirement of a fifth. The commissioners would be deadlocked if they voted along party lines, which they often do.

Earlier this year Sen. Dick Durbin tried to force the industry to eliminate the strangulation hazard from blinds by adding language to a pending appropriations bill that would allow regulators to establish mandatory standards.

That provision and others affecting policy were recently dropped, however, so the bill focuses only on spending.

Safety advocates who were asked to participate in the standard-setting process are upset with what they say is the industry’s refusal to make changes. Donald Mays, one of the advocates and senior director of product safety planning at Consumers Union, said he plans to ask for an audit of the entire process.

“To me it is a lot of lip service saying they are making blinds safer,” he said.

They don’t look nice! I don’t want them fitted! We don’t need safety devices! There aren’t any children here!

These are some of the responses I’ve had when attempting to install safety devices on window blinds.

Safety devices save lives. Did you know it takes only ten seconds for a child to lose consciousness and fifty seconds for it to lose its life? There have even been cases of a child dying from strangulation on a window blind cord in the same room as its mother.

These safety solutions may not look pretty but they are effective.  Their design has improved over the past few years and, with the exception of a few ill-conceived, poorly designed, clunky units they are relatively inconspicuous when installed. Moreover, there haven’t been any cases that I am aware of where a child has died on a blind that had a safety device properly installed. They do save lives!

Typical Safety Device for Chains

Personally, I would love to see cordless solutions for window blinds as soon as possible. The industry has been slowly moving that way but the cost of these products is far too high. This is ridiculous when you consider that the difference in production costs isn’t much higher.

Its vital that safety devices are installed in every home irrespective of whether it is foreseeable that children are going to be present. We don’t know when a child is going to visit.

I employed a fitter once that went to a home to install some chain operated roller blinds. As was company practice, Liam informed the owner of the house that he was about to install safety devices and continued to explain the reason for them and their use.

The customer told Liam that she didn’t want them and that they didn’t look nice. She also told him that she didn’t have any children living in or visiting the house.

As was our company policy, Liam proceeded to get the lady to sign a declaration stating that she refused to have the safety devices installed.

He gathered his tools, left the house and proceeded to his next call.  However, some time later he realized he had left his drill behind in the last house. Liam contacted his customer and explained he would be returning shortly to collect his drill. The lady of the house replied “you can’t come ‘round, I have children here. I mind them three times a week”.  You would think this was a joke or a story I invented, but it is a true story! The case of the unwanted safety device.

Aaron O’Connell

Window blind companies have an obligation to their customers where child safety is concerned. With the cases of fatalities through strangulation throughout the world it has become even more important that window blind manufacturers and retailers do all they can to promote the issue of window blind safety.

Sales and Measuring – The Do’s and Don’ts
At the point of sale, either in the showrooms or in the customer’s own home sales and measuring staff should educate their customer on what they are about to purchase. Efforts should be made to explain and demonstrate the different operating methods and which would be the most appropriate for their needs.

Sample window blinds with the relevant safety devices would be an advantage for staff making house calls. Alternatively, literature with plenty of images can be used to explain the different operating methods.

In my time as a window blind sales man and company owner I have found that a lot of customers aren’t visual. They can’t imagine or picture what you are trying to explain. The easiest way to educate them is to demonstrate using a sample blind or with the appropriate literature.

Sales staff must help their customers make an informed decision on their purchase.  I don’t believe in holding back on information or giving too much. It’s your duty from a child safety perspective and your customers will be more than impressed. It’s not about giving them too little information! Your sales personnel need to show they care about window blind safety.

When measuring, the safest position and safest lengths of any cords and chains should be noted. Particular attention should be paid to the position of cords and chains relative to the position of children’s cots and playpens, etc.

Window blinds should not be sold to customers if they have children and if that product is not suitable for children. Would your company want the guilt of having sold a blind to a family who subsequently lost their child by strangling on that blind?

As stated earlier, looped cords and chains should not be positioned near children’s cots or beds. If the child’s cot is on the left, the operating mechanism should be on the right. Ideally, I wouldn’t install corded window blinds in any child’s bedroom. Also the length of any cords and chains should be kept at a minimum. The new revised European Standard, EN13120, will likely restrict the height of any cord and chain to a minimum of 1.5m above the ground. Blinds manufactured after the publication date of this standard will reflect the change in height restrictions. It would be ideal if manufacturers implemented this now!

In my time training my measuring and sales staff I have always encouraged them to think safe. I have asked them to treat the situation as if they were buying the blinds and questioned if they would purchase an unsafe window blind?

Manufacturing Safer Blinds for Our Children

Under the current European Standard manufacturers must provide warning labels with each blind. The installer must not remove these. Manufacturers are also obliged to provide comprehensive instruction leaflets, which will explain the safe use, maintenance, installation of the blind, in addition to the step-by-step installation instructions for the safety devices.

As a requirement, safety devices must be included with each blind. It isn’t appropriate to assume that the installer will have them readily available.

Safe Installation Saves Lives

I see the installer as the last line of defence. If he or she can install the blind safely then he or she is potentially saving a life. Those customers who choose to self-install must also be sure to follow the instructions to a tee.

I have found it necessary that the installer explains the use of the safety device and the reasoning behind it’s use.

The installer must also identify any hazards, for example, if the chain being used is too close to a clot or too long. Steps should be taken to rectify any issues.

There’s nothing worse than a lazy fitter. In my time in the industry I came across plenty of examples or laziness. I’ve seen safety devices installed into plasterboard with no wall plugs and all because the fitter was in a hurry or couldn’t be bothered!

It’s imperative that all window blinds are installed correctly and safely and also that the instructions leaflet is provide to the customer and, more importantly, explained. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen instructions thrown in the trash or left in the packaging.

To Conclude
Staff working in window blind companies must be made aware of the importance of child safety. Sales, measuring, manufacturing and installation staff should be kept up-to-date with the new standards. Companies should have copies of the standards available for inspection by staff.

Customers should be informed, educated and assisted in making an informed decision.

Inform, educate and save lives!

These ten window blind safety tips will ensure you are able to keep your children safe from strangulation in corded blinds. I hope they are of help to you.

My Top Ten Window Blind Safety Tips

1. Fit a safety device to all corded window blinds
2. Make sure to refit all safety devices after decorating
3. Ensure all cords and chains end at least 1.5m above the ground
4. Do not tie cords together
5. Move all beds, cots, highchairs and furniture away from windows with corded window blinds
6. Fit appropriate safety devices to the inner or rear cords of window blinds
7. When purchasing new blinds, make sure they are manufactured to the European Standard
8. Make sure a warning notice is attached
9. Ensure documentation relating to the blind’s safe installation, use and maintenance is provided
10. Make sure a safety solution is provided with your new blind and that it can be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions

I read an article yesterday where the famous Wall Street Journal criticised the Consumer Product safety Commission of America’s push for safer window blinds.

 In it’s article in the opinion section of yesterday’s paper, the Journal attacked the government’s regulatory power. The headline read “A Rule of Blind Injustice: The new regulatory standard for household products is zero risk”

 The Journal argued that the CPSC’s initiative to “eliminate the hazard” posed to children by window blind cords is a step too far when only “about 12 children a year die in accidents with window blinds”.

I believe that any life lost is one too many. Didn’t the writer consider the pain inflicted on parents who have lost children?

 It’s obvious from the comments posted by readers of the online version that this is a heated issue but I was disgusted to read comments like “Lousy parenting. Failing to supervise a one-year old baby and the subsequent strangulation death is not the fault of a window blind company.”

Parents can’t be blamed and they can’t supervise their children 24/7. Did you know it takes ten seconds for a child to lose consciousness after it becomes entangled in a window blind cord? Forty seconds later that poor child has died! All it takes is for a parent to go to answer the door or the phone for the child to lose its life.

 Aida Foster lost her life last year in Ireland while her mother was in the room. I don’t believe she was negligent. These accidents happen so quickly.

 In the article The Journal thinks the elimination of all hazards posed by blinds to children is a “fairly high bar” and because this standard has yet to be applied to all items that kill children, blinds should not be subject to this “zero risk” standard:

The Journal concludes that CPSC’s initiative is another example “unnecessary regulations” and calls it a “costly nonsensical standard”.

Many more children die every year from other household accidents. More fall out of windows than are killed by strangulation in window blind cords. At least the initiative is been taken with window blinds to address a problem.

 I wasn’t surprised that The Journal mentions the cost of implementing a standard. It’s obvious to me that its purely adopting the cold-hearted approach we’ve seen from multi-national market driven companies who have no qualms when it comes to culling jobs to satisfy shareholders. Where do the Wall Street Journal’s loyalties lie?

 There are more than two billion window coverings are already installed in homes in the US. The newspaper argues that “the CPSC’s time could better be spent educating consumers about how to protect their children from those risks instead of pushing another costly nonsensical standard.”

I would like to see a two-pronged approach. The publication of a new standard would force manufacturers to develop child safe and cordless window blinds, and the education of consumers, particularly those with existing blinds, would save lives.

 In Europe we are revising the current standard, EN13120, with the aim to force manufacturers to produce child safe window blinds. There is an understanding that there aren’t cordless solutions to many window blind types at present, but the industry will undertake to move forward with design and will also be driven by educated consumers who will demand safer alternatives. Safety devices, which will be tested to the standard, will continue to be used in Europe as a means of retro-fitting existing product and with new corded window blind products, until such time as cordless alternatives are available to consumers.

Would you ban corded window blinds?

The results were extremely one-sided and reflect people’s views on the dangers posed by cords and chains in blinds.

A total of 110 people voted in the poll from October 9^th to 29^th. A staggering 101 of those thought that corded window blinds should be banned. Five votes were spoiled, while two voted against a ban and two were unsure. A selection of the comments they also made are below.

Yes they should be banned to prevent any more tragedies for other families.

They need to be banned now once and for all before someone else loses someone dear to them.

They are too dangerous and too easy for kids to get at.

There needs to be something done.

100% they should be banned. Way too dangerous.

Yes without a shadow of a doubt.

Would definitely ban corded window blinds.

These comments reflect the concerns of people, many of whom are parents, and the anger they feel.

The new revised European Standards will go a long way to ensure blinds are manufactured with child safety in mind. However, for it to be effective, it will have to be policed and those companies that are not in compliance must be prosecuted.

The industry has been developing new safety devices for corded window blinds. New cordless options must be designed but they need to be offered to the public at a reasonable price. Just because the public is demanding cordless blinds doesn’t mean the industry can charge an arm and a leg for them. It has been proven that the cost to manufacture cordless window blinds isn’t significantly more expensive. So why should customes be asked to pay significantly more?

Since 1998, ten Irish toddlers have been strangled by window blind cords. The most recent, Dean Partick Regan Russell, whose inquest was heard last month, once again highlighted the need for stricter safety regulations and a ban for certain types of corded blinds.
But while retail outlets are obliged to comply with European safety standards, many shops are passing off unsafe merchandise to unsuspecting parents.
Aaron O’Connell spent 25 years in the industry and founded a website – www.windowblindsafety.ie – offering vital information on all the latest safety regulations.
“Research has shown that most accidental deaths involving blinds happen in bedrooms to children between 16 and 36 months. Over half of these accidents occur when the chils is around 23 months” he says.
These facts are shocking, but O’Connell says if the Government works in accordance with the manufacturers to make te product safer and enlighten parents to potential dangers, many of these tragic accidents could be avoided.
Before buying blinds, parents should ask the following questions of the retailer:
Does the product meet the safety requirements of EN13120?
Is a warning notice attached?
Is documentation relating to safe installation, use and maintenance provided?
Is a safety device provided and can it be fitted in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions?
Can the supplier demonstrate the safety device?

Making existing blinds safe:
Keep all cords and chains out of reach of children – ending at least 1.5m above the ground.
Install relevant safety devices
Don’t tie cords together
Move furniture away from windows with cord or chain operated blinds.
The inner cords in venetian and pleated blinds and the rear cords in roman blinds are also strangulation risk so fit appropriate safety devices.
For more advice visit www.windowblindsafety.ie

National Consumer Agency Notice

These blinds pose a risk of strangulation as the cord on the blinds is longer than the permitted levels.

The product was sold in Heatons and Michael Guiney’s stores in Ireland since 2008.

The product in question is a Scallop Edge Roller Blind available in cream, natural and white, in sizes 2ft, 3ft, 4ft, 5ft and 6ft. This is a roller blind with a scallop edge border on the bottom of the blind; the blind is operated by a beaded chain cord.

What to do

Please return to the store where you purchased the blinds and you will receive a safety device that will need to be fixed to a wall or architrave at a height where the chain is taut.

Once the safety device is attached the product no longer poses a risk.

Please return to the store where you purchased the blinds and you will receive a safety device that will need to be fixed to a wall or architrave at a height where the chain is taut.

Once the safety device is attached the product no longer poses a risk.

Advice on window blind safety

  The National Consumer Agency urges parents, guardians and carers of young children and managers of public buildings, such as schools, libraries, crèches, playgroups and Montessoris to take all necessary measures to protect young children from the possibility of being injured or strangled by window-blind cords/chains/ball chains or similar.

In particular we advise the following:

Purchasing new blinds

• Confirm with the supplier that the blind complies with the Irish standard IS EN 13120 – Internal Blinds – Performance Requirements Including safety
• Check that safety devices are incorporated into the blind or that they are supplied separately
• Check that installation instructions are provided
• Check that warning notices are attached to the blind
• Retain the instructions for further reference

Retrofit old blinds

You can retrofit your old blinds to make them safe in your home by following these steps:

• Cut the cord to get rid of the loop and install tassels
• Cords should end at least 1.6 metres above the floor so children cannot reach them
• Replace cords/chains/ball chains or similar with blind wands
• Where cords cannot be cut, a safety device should be used to pull the cords/chains/ball chains or similar tight and secure it to the floor or wall

General advice

• Move beds, cots and other furniture away from window blinds with exposed cords/chains/ball chains or similar. Children can climb furniture to get at them
• To avoid strangulation and entanglement, keep cords/chains/ball chains or similar out of reach of young children. Young children should not be left unattended
• Do not tie cords together
• Make sure cords do not twist together and create a loop
• Safety devices such as hooks or cord tensioning wheels may be purchased from hardware stores or curtain shops and are relatively inexpensive. Please consult with a window blind manufacturer/installer to assist in making the correct decision as to which is the best solution for you when retrofitting old blinds
• Allow the installer to fit the safety devices as it has come to our attention that some customers are refusing to do so

Be safe

The NCA wishes to warn consumers, however, that the new safety measures on their own cannot totally remove the risk of strangulation or injury to children.

Parents and guardians are therefore urged to take all necessary safety measures to enhance their children’s safety.

Learn more

Download the “Consumer Guide to the Safety of Window Blinds” guide in PDF format (PDF, 138KB) or Word format (MS Word, 243KB)