Property manager cited after boy falls out window

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Property manager cited for code violation after boy falls out window

Payton Randle, prandle@argusleader.com

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/23/property-manager-cited-code-violation-boy-falls-window/26281149/

A Sioux Falls property manager was cited for a safety code violation Thursday, a day after a 2-year-old boy took a traumatizing tumble out of a third-story apartment window.

The boy fell about 20 feet from a living room window at the Chasing Willow apartments, 4800 E. 54th St., around 6 p.m. Wednesday. He was recovering from a broken upper arm, a dislocated shoulder, and mild liver bleeding and was expected to be released from the hospital Friday.

The boy's grandfather, Jeff Brooks, complained to city inspectors after the fall, and on Thursday the city's top building official said the apartment was in violation of a city code that prohibits windows that high off the ground from opening more than four inches.

"This is a life-safety requirement and this is a perfect example of what can happen," Ron Bell, the city's chief building official, said.

The apartments are managed by Costello Property Management, which didn't respond to calls and emails Thursday.

Bell said the city will continue discussions with Costello Property Management and verify that the company corrects the violation.

The boy was home with his father and a newborn sibling at the time of the fall, according to Brooks. He said the boy's father walked into the room and saw the boy's feet going out the window. He struck an overhang about halfway down before landing on a concrete area.

"The doctor said that four-inch overhang saved his life," said Brooks, who found out about the fall in a panicked call from his daughter.

Brooks worked construction for 30 years and suspected the window wasn't up to regulation. He said his daughter had raised concerns about the window to the property manager but was told it was safe.

Window falls account for approximately eight deaths and 3,300 injuries among children ages five and under every year, according to Safe Kids Worldwide, a global organization dedicated to preventing injuries in children.

Some states, including New York and Minnesota, have specific laws aimed at preventing falls from windows. Sioux Falls' commercial building code says that if the bottom of a window is more than 6 feet above the ground outside and less than three feet from the floor inside, the window cannot open by more than four inches.

"It's up to the landlord to keep the property up on city codes," said Paul Flogstad, fair housing ombudsman for the city of Sioux Falls. "Regulations are made to protect everybody from this happening."

"Typically, most landlords are good about getting things taken care of," Flogstad added, noting that he's never heard complaints about Costello Property Management.

Brooks spent Thursday morning calling hardware stores to find a window lock to install.

"If they aren't going to do anything, you've got to take some initiative," he said.

His grandson will be fine, but Brooks hopes his trauma pushes other property managers to take precautions to avoid similar accidents.

"It's a small amount of money to put into your apartment to avoid one more kid falling out a window and possibly dying," he said. "From a standpoint as an owner, I'll take spending 50 cents per window than getting that phone call that someone's kid fell out of a window and is dead."

Home Safety Fact Sheet 2014

Window falls account for approximately 8 deaths and 3,300 injuries among children ages 5 and under annually

The risk of a child being injured as a result of a fall at home is twice the risk as at child-care

Window falls occur more frequently in large urban areas and low-income neighborhoods

In New York City and Boston, education and window guard distribution programs resulted in a 96 percent reduction in the incidence of window falls over 10 years

138 children ages 19 and under died in falls in 2011

54% of children who died in falls were ages 15 to 19

78% of children who died in falls were boys

2,812,190 children were seen in emergency departments for nonfatal falls in 2012. 1

Source: Safe Kids Worldwide

To help prevent injuries and tragedies, CPSC recommends the following safety tips:

Safeguard your children by using window guards or window stops.

Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of windows.

For windows on the 6th floor and below, install window guards that adults and older children can open easily in case of fire.

Install window stops so that windows open no more than 4 inches.

Never depend on screens to keep children from falling out of windows.

Whenever possible, open windows from the top - instead of the bottom.

Keep furniture away from windows to discourage children from climbing near windows.

 

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In toddler’s fall, city officials overlooked updated building codes

Payton Randle, prandle@argusleader.com 7:36 p.m. CDT April 24, 2015

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2015/04/24/toddlers-fall-city-officials-overlooked-updated-building-codes/26337453/

At a glance:

An updated national building code was not modified for local inspectors, contractors and property managers in 2012.

A 2-year-old boy fell out of a window at a Costello Property Management apartment complex and was hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder and broken arm.

Costello Property Management was cited for violating building codes.

A toddler’s fall from a three-story apartment window and subsequent citation against the property manager has left many questioning the city’s building inspection of the property.

The city’s chief building official, Ron Bell, said the answer lies within a change in the building code in 2012 and the city not modifying the updated provision.

The boy was still hospitalized Friday after falling about 20 feet Wednesday evening from a living room window at the Chasing Willows Apartments, 4800 E. 54th St. He is recovering from a broken upper arm, a dislocated shoulder and mild liver bleeding.

The apartments are managed by Costello Property Management, which was cited for a safety code violation Thursday. In an email Friday, Joan Franken, owner and managing partner, said the company is not commenting on the incident at this time.

Bell said the property manager is making changes.

“I’ve talked with Costello, and they are reviewing all of their properties and making sure they are modifying any windows out of compliance,” he said.

That citation caused comments on social media and from other property managers who questioned why the city would have allowed the apartments to pass inspection before they opened last year.

The problem resulted when an International Building Code change in 2012 regarding window fall safety was overlooked by city officials.

Building codes for residential and commercial properties are updated and modified in a three-year cycle. The first time a provision for window fall protection was introduced was in 2006, Bell said.

“When this first became a new code provision, we took it in front of the (Sioux Empire) Home Builders Association and the board (Building Board of Appeals) and adopted it into a local amendment,” he said.

According to the 2006 national standard, if the bottom of a window was more than 6 feet above the ground outside and less than 2 feet from the floor inside, the window couldn’t open by more than 4 inches.

“Based on discussion, we decided on a local amendment that reduced that (inside) threshold from 24 inches down to 18 inches for both residential and commercial properties,” Bell said. “We make modifications in these codes all the time. We have the ability to make those based on local issues and affordability.”

The next release in 2009 produced no changes, leaving the national standard at an interior threshold of 24 inches and the local standard at a threshold of 18 inches.

In 2012, the previous national standard of an interior threshold of 24 inches was increased to 36 inches, making the requirement more restrictive. At the same time, the provision was moved to a different chapter in the handbook, Bell said.

“We maintained the local provision at 18 inches in the residential and building codes,” he said. “This was based on the fact that it was relocated within the building code.”

In the unit where the 2-year-old boy fell, the bottom of the window is 24 inches from the floor, which is a requirement from the 2006 and 2009 building code, Bell said.

Bell said the apartment, which was built in 2013-14, passed city regulations because the inspector was using the outdated code from 2009 rather than the modified code from 2012.

The inspection process is completed in three steps: a footing inspection, a structural inspection and the final inspection. Bell said it’s typical for an building such as an apartment complex to involve dozens of inspections, with the final one taking half a day or more.

Chasing Willows Apartments was inspected 59 times as it was being built. The permit for the property was issued in August 2013, and the final inspection was completed in November 2014. Bell said the final inspection involved only landscaping issues, and the complex had been approved to accept residents starting in July 2014.

“In those final inspections, we’re looking at all nonstructural, life-safety requirements in codes,” he said. “When we’re doing inspections, we’re looking at thousands of code provisions there. It’s very technical and very difficult.”

Bell said the next steps the city takes are important.

The city will meet with the Sioux Empire Home Builders Association, the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association and the board to alert them of the code provisions. Bell said he already has been taking phone calls from property managers wanting to know if they’re out of compliance.

Denise Hanzlik, executive director of the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association, said the circumstances are unfortunate.

“As soon as we get the code, it will go out to our property owners and managers,” said Hanzlik, giving them the opportunity to ensure their properties are up to city standards. “We’ll certainly do anything we can to get the word out.”

Hanzlik works closely with the city when codes are being adopted and changes are being made. She said she’ll help get the word out to the association’s members of the correct code provisions.

The association has 189 members who own 16,000 units across the state.

“They’ll have to go through and make sure all of their buildings that were built after 2007 are up to code, and if they’re not, they’ll have to install the window locks,” she said. “The financial aspect is minor to outweigh the potential for incidents like this.”

The city is in the process of reviewing and adopting 2015 residential and building codes, Bell said

“This is going to be an important topic of discussion after an incident like that,” he said. “We’re going to have to decide where we’re going to go with this.”

The board of appeals will adopt the building codes in late fall and early winter.

“We’ll have to review local amendments and code changes while digesting what happened at the national level and providing presentations to local entities to get their input and decide whether code criteria is going to stay or not,” he said.

 

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“Based on discussion, we decided on a local amendment that reduced that (inside) threshold from 24 inches down to 18 inches for both residential and commercial properties,” Bell said. “We make modifications in these codes all the time. We have the ability to make those based on local issues and affordability.”

They deserve a good spanking. Affordability he says. What's next Feng Shui?