Child Safety Week – Window Blind Safety

4th June 2019

PLEASE NOTE: This article is over 1 year old and may not contain the most up-to-date information.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is proactively working to create awareness around blind safety in an effort to prevent accidental deaths from blind cords.

There have been at least 33 deaths across the UK due to looped cords since 1999 (18 of which have occurred since the start of 2010), however, these accidents are preventable.

Children can become entangled on hanging cords when playing, climbing or exploring near window blinds. It can take less than a minute for a child to lose their life on one window cord.

In 2014 stringent new standards governing the manufacture, supply and installation of new internal window blinds came into effect with the aim of reducing child accidents. These changes place an obligation on all in the industry to supply and install compliant products.

As a result, all blinds placed on the market now have to display warning labels placed on the front of blinds as well as on packaging. They must include safety instructions, in addition to safety devices to ensure blind cords are kept out of the reach of young children. The Standard also imposes a maximum cord and chain length where there is a likelihood of young children 0-42 months present which includes homes and public places like hotels, hospitals, schools, shops, places of worship and nurseries.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Home Safety Officers are on hand to highlight the dangers associated with blind cords. Officers can carry out visits in homes of children aged under 5, and provide advice on issues around home safety, security and energy efficiency. If you would like to book a visit, please telephone Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Environmental Health service on 0300 303 1777, textphone on 028 8225 6216.

New parents can also pick up blind cord safety devices from the Registrar when they register the birth of their baby.

Further information and advice is also available from the Council’s Environmental Health team.

Helpful videos about Blind Cord Safety are available to view at the following links:

https://vimeo.com/user7269955/review/141160650/cc3bd695b2.
www.bbsa.org.uk/domestic/child-safety/26
www.makeitsafe.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BBSA-Surveyor-and-Installer-guide-NON-Members-V5-11-17.pdf
www.nidirect.gov.uk/blind-cord-safety