Two children die in one week in blind cord accidents: TUNSW calls for caution
The Tenants Union of NSW has called for parents and carers to take action following a toddler's death in northwest Sydney.
The 15 month old girl was found unconscious in her cot last Tuesday. She was brought to hospital by paramedics and later died. After initial investigations, police suggested that she became entangled in a blind cord. Hers was the second blind cord related death in a single week in Sydney. A 16 month old girl in Hornsby died on January 30 in similar circumstances.
The Tenants Union has published a post on their blog reiterating warnings they had released after an 18 month old boy died last year in a blind cord accident.
"Keep cots, beds and other furniture away from blind cords," the post reads.
"Keep cords out of reach, by winding them on a hook or clipping them to the blind. Look out especially for older cords that are looped, or knotted or otherwise joined at the tassels. In most cases these can be made less dangerous by cutting the loop or the join, and fixing new tassels on the cut ends. In some cases a blind might require a continuous loop of cord to work. These cords can be made less dangerous by keeping the loop taut through a cleat fixed to the floor or wall.
"Cutting through cords and fixing cleats like this are alterations to the property, for which you should properly seek your landlord's consent. As minor alterations, your landlord cannot refuse consent unreasonably. And it is hard to think of any good reason for refusing consent for you to do these very simple things to make your home safer for children."
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, at least 11 children died between 2001 and 2008 in blind cord related accidents. All new blinds are required by law to include safety warnings, and instructions on how to safely install cords to prevent accidents.
The ACCC's safety fact sheet on blind cord safety can be found here.
Landlords and property managers might also consider sending out an alert to their tenants, as well as considering if there are any safety risks within the properties.