In December, we shared the story of Exodus Eyob. A little boy who fell to his death from the 7th floor of a high-rise tower block in Leeds.
Exodus gained access to the window by climbing upon a bed placed under the window. The window opened horizontally almost 360 degrees, supposedly for cleaning purposes. The window did have a restrictor, but this was easily disengaged. The death of Exodus follows the death of Liam Shackleton in 2011. Liam also fell from the window of a high-rise tower block in Leeds.
Following Liam’s death, the then Senior Coroner David Hincliffe issued a prevention of future deaths report requiring permanently fixed restrictors to all windows in high-rise tower blocks and regular inspections of properties with a strong emphasis on checking windows were safe and recognising furniture under windows and the safety risks of such. The local authority did not fit permanently fixed restrictors to all properties but did say that they would offer the free fitting of fixed restrictors to all homes and fit them to homes which they believed to be high risk.
Exodus’ mother heard about the death of Liam Shackleton and expressed her concerns about her windows to the local authority. Regrettably, her concerns were ignored and the unimaginable happened.
The death of Exodus was completely avoidable, and we are behind the family who are determined to make changes so such a tragedy doesn’t happen to any other family.
We would like to see changes in legislation making it mandatory for any window above ground floor, in high-rise tower blocks, to have permanently fixed window restrictors, particularly those homes with children or vulnerable adults. We would also like local authorities to create national policy, providing tenants with a voice and the ability to address any safety concerns.
Sign our petition
We have launched an online petition to seek justice for Exodus Eyob.
Please sign our petition here – every signature counts!
In addition, we have put together a short survey about high-rise window safety and would be grateful if you would take the time to answer five short questions.
Take the survey here:
If you are a resident in a high-rise tower block or a member of a high-rise tower block community organisation and you have been pushing to address concerns over the safety of the windows, please contact our Director and Head of Inquests at gareth.naylor@isonharrison.co.uk
