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Five-year-old dies in fall from Brookline apartment building

By adamg on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 10:20am

WCVB reports on the incident yesterday at 1371 Beacon St., near Coolidge Corner

Neighborhoods: 
Brookline
Topics: 
Parenting


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Comments

By anon on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 10:53am.

Such a horrible story. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

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By mg on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 11:45am.

All young kids are at risk of falling from windows, no matter how well-behaved or docile they may seem. When my baby turned into a mobile toddler, I refused to visit my parents' apartments until they'd installed window guards. It only takes one unguarded moment. My heart goes out to the family.

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By poster on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 2:27pm.

but 5 years old is a kindergartener, not a toddler. Classrooms typically do not have window guards on them, even upper-story ones. This sounds like a tragic accident, not a cause to blame the parents.

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By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 2:45pm.

Some five year olds have mental/emotional disabilities. Some are just not yet able to grasp why you don't stand in a window ... they are more able to climb than toddlers, but judgement is variable.

Very sad accident, regardless.

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By mg on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 4:15pm.

Especially given it's not even clear the child was in their own home. I was making a safety announcement.

And 5 years old is still young enough to do something stupid like lean hard against the screen or be jumping on a bed next to a window. I grew up in a 5th floor apartment, and my parents did not take down the guards the second we were school aged.

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By anon on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 8:30pm.

Five years old in the summer is not yet a kindergartener.

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By anon on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 4:34pm.

Is there some type of law regarding child safety requirements for buildings designated as "affordable housing" like this one is? Like window guards? Or not?

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By anon on Wed, 07/05/2017 - 8:07am.

This site claims that 1371 has 30 affordable housing units in the building. My eyes tell me that the building has far more than 30 units total.

If both of those things are true, we don't know (on this site, so far) if the unit from which the child fell was an affordable unit or not.

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By anon on Wed, 07/05/2017 - 10:31am.

in such a fantastic and very expensive location? Anything like back in the day when 'professionals' were in $400. a month rent controlled apartments in prime locations?

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By markg on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 4:39pm.

Sadly this is why New York City has a Window Guard law http://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/owners/window-guards.page

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By Stephen Bickerton Sr on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 7:05pm.

And country wide must adhere to the same standard of construction as ny.
Kids can't fly law

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By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 9:43pm.

These are safety devices that are installed to prevent accidents. There is a law in NYC because landlords had been preventing tenants from installing their own, and refused to install them, and kids died.

Sheesh.

Think of it like a car seat: car seats are required for children. Cars do not usually come with car seats. You don't have to put them in a car unless there are kids in the car. Etc.

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By Elmer on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 8:20pm.

      IMAGE(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/06/16/realestate/16TICKET/16TICKET-blog480-v2.jpg)   ( twenty years ago )

Officials tomorrow will notify the Material Girl, via mail, that her Central Park West high-rise lacks childproof window guards, as required by local law.

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By SwirlyGrrl on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 9:37pm.

Eric Clapton lost a kid this way.

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By Danny on Tue, 07/04/2017 - 10:15pm.

Tragic and sad, but also weird coming on the heels of this nearly-identical story with a miraculous happy ending: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/07/03/year-old-survives-story-fal...

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By anon on Wed, 07/05/2017 - 9:07am.

In summertime, people have the windows open.

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By mplo on Fri, 07/07/2017 - 4:43pm.

especially when there are small children and infants around the apartment, and there are no window guards installed.

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By anon on Wed, 07/05/2017 - 12:06am.

Seems like it's far too often. I agree safety precautions should be taken into place of buildings 3 floors +

I remember as a young child listening to Eric Claptons "Tears in Heaven" and my father telling me the background of the song. Clapton's 4-year-old son Conor died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of his mother's friend's New York City apartment. I could never shake that story from my mind.

I can't imagine what this family is going through. My thoughts and prayers.

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