Child's death raises awareness about window blind safety | News

SACRAMENTO, CA - Monday, an east Sacramento a 3-year-old was strangled when she became entangled in a window blind cord.

STORY: East Sac 3 year old dies in mini-blind accident

It's not that uncommon. Niko King knows the dangers as Assistant Fire Chief of the Sacramento Fire Department and as a dad.

"It always crosses my mind cause I am in the business and I belong to a group called Safe Kids Coalition that talks about these types of accidents that happen in our homes," said King.

Window blinds are part of a long list of things that require child-proofing.

"The goal is to keep them up high, and to keep them out of their reach, and to keep them away from their beds and there are devices they sell that will accomplish all that, " said King.

Cord winders can be bought to keep the cord from your child's reach.

"Especially in the windows are really low, uh, where the toddlers are going to be able to get to them and there's a lot of cord that dangles to the ground is where parents want to be most cautious," said King.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has urged blind manufacturers to eliminate chords, cover them on the front or back of blinds, or shorten them to 7.25 inches which is too short to be a strangulation risk.

"For parents it is something that you don't expect to see or think about but from these unfortunate events it does bring the message back to the forefront," said King.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission website offers more information on window blind safety and recalls.