Aren't bars on windows dangerous?!

[Bluedeblue]

Watching A Place in the Sun, and a lot of the Villas have metal bars on the windows. FIL's house abroad does as well. Is this not a really stupid idea, in case the house goes on fire?!

A lot of places abroad have them and there doesn't appear to be masses of people dying in fires by being trapped in their homes because of the bars on the windows so overall it doesn't appear to be a really stupid idea.

No it doesn’t sound sensible does it, and I don’t think it would be allowed here.

I suppose it's thought that burglaries are a higher risk than fires? It freaks me out as well. Maybe OK if there's another fire escape route.

@BronwenFrideswide

A lot of places abroad have them and there doesn't appear to be masses of people dying in fires by being trapped in their homes because of the bars on the windows so overall it doesn't appear to be a really stupid idea.

I know, right.

Where I'm from, it's called burglar-proof. People are more likely to be careful with fire (they don't quite need warning labels to not put things in their mouths or eyes). Of course accidents happen, but being trapped in the house in a fire with no way to escape isn't really a 'thing' there but thieves trying to sneak into your home is. They'd find it much more difficult to do so with burglary-proof bars on doors and windows, so often won't bother.

A quick Google finds a lot of stories from around the world where people did die because of window bars. Perhaps it isn't that uncommon for it to happen when a fire does break out.

I suppose that in warmer countries, there's be less flammable soft furnishings such as carpets and curtains due to heat and more hard, resistant surfaces such as shutters and tiled floors so the safety ratio of window bars vs fire is different to the UK.

I don't think the fact they exist makes them magically safer or that the fire rate is any lower. It will be more that the rate of risk is perceived differently, not necessarily that it actually is a different level of risk.

When I lived in Spain there were bars on the ground floor windows and my bedroom but the front bedroom didn't have any so we could have escaped easily enough. Opportunistic burglary was a massive problem though. Many properties didn't have aircon so you had to be able to open a window and having the bars enabled you to do so without worrying.

@Dizzywizz

No it doesn’t sound sensible does it, and I don’t think it would be allowed here.

It is allowed here and lots of garden and ground floor flats have them in most cities in the UK.

I lived in a bungalow in Southern California with bars. I would have been terrified without them. There was a window right next to my bed and an alley where people sleeping rough regularly congregated. Plus it’s hot so you have to have the windows open. There are kick panels at the base of the window that release the bars if there is an emergency.

And just to clarify, the city had plenty of homeless housing available at the time, most of the people who slept in the alleys refused the housing because of drug addiction or severe mental illness. I’m not implying all people who sleep rough are dangerous. I am speaking to this particular situation and this particular group who suffered from particular issues and faced very complex problems.

This made me twitchy in PIL house in Spain. It also only has a front door, no back door. However as PP said, there are few soft furnishings and most of it like the staircase is concrete not wood.

I suppose that in warmer countries, there's be less flammable soft furnishings such as carpets and curtains due to heat and more hard, resistant surfaces such as shutters and tiled floors so the safety ratio of window bars vs fire is different to the UK

Good point

We have burglar bars where I'm from. Risk of fire is much less than risk of intruders. It is also warmer so we don't have open fires, heaters or gas, so the actual fire risk is quite low also. It's best if the bars just cover the windows that can open so you can kick out the main glass pane if really necessary.