Fire Hazard

Joshua found the candle surround he made at preschool today so we lit a candle and put it inside. He asked me if he could have it in his bedroom tonight and I said, "No way!" We have bars on every window and if there was a fire upstairs it would be difficult to escape. In fact, the US ambassador's daughter died in a house fire for that reason about 3 years ago.

It started me thinking though - do bars make us "safe"? They are there to deter burglars but I wonder if they don't, in fact, go some way to create the problem. Do they suggest we think we have something worth stealing? Do they create a sense of have and have-nots?

There is one house close to us that has a completely open access front - like a typical house in England - and it always makes me pause when I pass it on our walks with the kids. What kind of message is it sending? That the owners don't consider the property or occupants valuable or that at some point they got fed up of living behind tall gates and walls?