When You Assume…
Originally posted 11/11/2012
This is one of two emergency window release latches on the window that’s in my bunk bed. There’s another window just like it in the office area, and they’re on opposite sides of the trailer. These windows are provided as an emergency exit in case the trailer rolls onto its side, or there should be a fire that blocks the one and only door. This functionality comes at the price of ventilation, since they aren’t screened and don’t latch open.
Since I have an unexplainable penchant for candles and kerosene lamps in the cool evenings, these emergency exits have been reassuring… until last night when I noticed that the bunkbed window latches were wired shut. A cable tie is wrapped around it, preventing the window latch from being released. Hmmm. I know that the last person who used it had two young girls, so either they couldn’t resist bailing out now and then, or the window tended to pop open from air pressure and vibration during transport. I suspect it’s the former, since the freed latches show no tendency to wiggle open under pressure. Regardless, they are fully operational as of today. Hopefully, I’ll be able to resist the temptation to bail out just for fun.
