In a message dated 5/29/2007 11:18:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I am a big supporter of having bars on your first floor or any windows that someone can gain access to. If you don't want to have them mounted on the house, get the indoor ones that you can put up yourself, put a lock on them and keep the key to the lock somewhere close enough that you can get to it if you need to get out quickly, but not so close that someone could try to reach in to get it. We have bars on the first floor windows of all our apartment buildings, and some on upper floors if there's easy access (e.g., a porch roof). We believe -- based on anecdotal rather than statistical evidence -- that most break-ins in a neighborhood like ours are not a result of someone being targeted, but are targets of opportunity. And a miscreant is likely to pass up a building with bars of any sort in favor of something that looks much easier. City codes require that if there are bars on bedroom windows, that they can be easily and quickly opened from the inside -- without a key. This is a rule you should follow -- most fire fatalities occur in bedrooms. There are relatively inexpensive interior bars (Monarch Hardware, Home Depot, somethimes the Second Mile Center have them) that swing open. They have a latch that's not readily accessible from the outside. Al (they call me Mr Helpful) Krigman ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
