My baby brother died after falling from a high-rise window. His life could have been saved
Exodus Eyob died at the age of one in 2022 after falling from the window of a seventh-floor flat. He’s one of 16 children who have lost their lives due to faulty or missing window restrictors. Campaigners are calling for action
Exodus Eyob died after falling from a seventh-floor flat. Image: Supplied
Share
The family of a boy who died after falling from a window at his home have told Big Issue more needs to be done to save young lives.
It comes after it was revealed 16 children have been killed by falling from windows or balconies since 2019.
Exodus Eyob was just one year old when he climbed on a bed under a window and fell from the seventh-floor flat in Leeds in July 2022.
His mother had complained for years that the restrictor on the window could be easily pushed open.
Now Exodus’ sister Reem Semere told Big Issue that her family were frustrated at repeated complaints falling on deaf ears after they called for new restrictors.
“It was a simple ask that would have prevented a life being taken away,” said Semere.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
“Exodus’ passing has affected us greatly. I’d say it’s probably one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever experienced and will experience. I’ve not been the same in the past three years. I can’t sleep at night. I can hear my mum’s screaming constantly in my head, which gets to me a lot.
“My mum’s trying to manage. I think her way of coping is just trying to get back into work and trying to continue life but I used to see her crying a lot. She always used to tell me that I’m one that has it the hardest because I didn’t cry. I kind of struggled to process my emotions.
“Even now I still struggle to believe that he’s gone. I keep on thinking that he’s alive and he’s just away somewhere. I find it really hard to think that he’s not here anymore.”
The deaths of children from falling out of windows or from balconies has been under the spotlight recently.
Figures from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) show 16 children under the age of 11 have died as a result of a fall from a window or balcony since 2019, including 12 under the age of five.
Children from ethnic minority backgrounds were disproportionately represented with 11 children losing their lives.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Most deaths were in a flat (12 deaths) and social housing (nine deaths).
The database recorded that there was no lock or window restrictor in place in four cases while eight cases had damaged locks and restrictors.
Exodus Eyob’s family said they had repeatedly complained about the window in their flat before his fatal fall. Image: Supplied
The child was supervised in two cases but the lock or restrictor was broken or not in use on both those occasions.
The NCMD noted that there was a theme of families reporting windows as broken – sometimes on more than one occasion – but landlords and local authorities failed to fix them quickly enough.
Residents with young children should get priority in cases where windows need to be fixed, the NCMD said.
In some cases window restrictors had been overridden in hot weather or when residents were cooking and cleaning.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Other factors included climbable objects left near windows or on balconies and overcrowded housing that meant there were few places where furniture could be placed safely.
Awaab’s Law will come into force on 27 October, requiring social landlords to fix hazards to strict timelines. But it will only apply to damp and mould in the short-term before other hazards are included over time.
The government is also introducing a new decent homes standard that will apply to social housing and, for the first time, private rented homes will be included through the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Gareth Naylor, director and head of personal injury, inquests and civil liberties at Ison Harrison Solicitors, who represented Exodus’ family, told Big Issue that there is further to go to protect people living in high-rise buildings.
“While I welcome the government’s consultation on a reformed decent homes standard for social and privately rented homes, I am disappointed that a serious and dangerous window safety issue remains misunderstood,” said Naylor.
The solicitor said that the decent homes standard looks to increase the distance between the floor and guarding from 800mm to 110mm. That means restrictors should be fitted if the window is less than 110mm off the ground.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
But “this completely ignores the fact that in most high-rise dwellings, space is minimal and furniture, such as a bed, are placed under the windows, providing easy access to windows for children and vulnerable tenants”, said Naylor.
He added that permanently fixed window restrictors are also required, as seen in hotel or hospital windows, as they cannot be disengaged.
“Only this measure will ensure the safety of tenants in high-rise dwellings,” Naylor added.
The Housing Ombudsman has spoken out about complaints about windows after writing to housing association chief executives last year to share his concerns.
The regulator’s learning from severe maladministration report called for social landlords to make predictive rather than responsive repairs to tackle the issue.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
It highlighted one case in which a mother was unable to close windows in her home for three years, causing her to worry about the risks to her children. Other cases saw a child’s bedroom window boarded up for four years and another kid unable to do schoolwork because of excess cold and experiencing a burglary with repairs unresolved for two years.
It’s not just the young impacted: elderly residents also reported excess cold because of window disrepair and some residents said that the temperatures impacted their health conditions.
“Replacing windows can be complex and costly for landlords. But there can be no justification for the conditions some residents have endured.
“Multiple times we see risk assessments not conducted, or surveys repeated without expert advice acted upon. We also see poor contractor coordination or oversight and excessive delays combined with a lack of communication.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
“Crucially, we repeatedly see a failure to connect the circumstances of the household to the condition of the property. Reports of the risk of falling, fire safety, and exposure to cold and damp and mould are not always heeded by landlords. Nor are health conditions factored into the landlord’s response.”
Blakeway said reforms to the decent homes standard will help the situation but added: “We should not need a new standard to see that leaving a child with a boarded-up bedroom window for several years is inexcusable.”
Meanwhile, for families who have lost loved ones, the void in their lives remain.
“During that time, I was just locked in my room quite a bit because I had to revise for A-levels but I would make a thing about going to see Exodus because he would literally cure my anxiety,” said Semere.
“He was adorable. He would be giggling and laughing. He was growing as well. He was starting to become more stable with walking and stuff. He would be the one chasing his brother around, who was like five at the time. He was gaining consciousness. He was literally the most adorable toddler ever.”
