As the heating season begins in Colorado Springs, fire safety officials are reminding families to plan how they would escape their homes in an emergency. Local windows and doors company A&L Home Improvement is encouraging homeowners to check whether the windows in their bedrooms and basements could actually serve as a way out.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, residents could have less than 2 minutes to escape a home fire once the smoke alarm sounds. The agency notes that the increasing severity of home fires due to modern building contents and open space configurations makes it crucial that people are prepared to leave their homes immediately.
The agency’s guidance puts windows at the center of a plan. The U.S. Fire Administration advises residents to draw a map of their home that includes all doors and windows, find two ways out of every room, and make sure doors and windows are not blocked. It also recommends choosing an outside meeting place in front of the home and practicing a home fire drill with everyone in the household.
For many rooms, the second way out is a window. That makes the condition of those windows a practical safety question, not only a comfort or appearance one.
Chad Anshutz, owner and president of A&L Home Improvement, leads a family-owned company that Colorado Springs homeowners have turned to for windows and doors colorado springs since 1956. He said older windows are often the overlooked part of a family’s plan.
“We go into homes all the time where a bedroom window has been painted shut or a basement window is too small to climb through,” Anshutz said. “Nobody notices until they actually try to open it.”
Older frames are a common starting point. When a window sticks, won’t stay open, or no longer operates smoothly, window replacement colorado springs projects can restore a usable opening.
Basement bedrooms deserve particular attention. Homeowners finishing lower levels often work with a window installer colorado springs families trust to size and place windows that work as a practical exit.
“My advice to a neighbor is to walk through the house and open every bedroom window once,” Anshutz said. “If a child couldn’t do it, or an adult couldn’t fit through it, that’s the window to deal with first.”
New openings take planning. The company’s window installation colorado springs co work covers new windows in finished basements, additions, and remodeled rooms. A&L Home Improvement offers complimentary estimates on installation and replacement.
A&L Home Improvement is a family-owned windows, doors, and exterior home improvement company based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and operating since 1956. The company provides window and door installation, replacement, and repair, along with siding, awnings, and patio covers. It serves Colorado Springs, Monument, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Woodland Park, Pueblo, Canon City, and Castle Rock.
