The Security Bars Fire Safety Act: How SB 1405 Required Quick-Release Mechanisms on California Window Bars

In the late 1990s, the California family that had installed security bars on the windows of the bedroom was, in most cases, a family that had installed the bars to prevent the burglary. The family had, in most cases, installed the bars without a quick-release mechanism. The quick-release mechanism was, in the late 1990s, not required. The family was, in the words of the fire safety advocates, the predictable outcome of a building code system that did not have the statutory tools to require the quick-release mechanism. The family was, in the words of the same advocates, a family that was, in the event of a fire, a family that could not get out of the bedroom through the window. The window was, in plain language, both a security feature and a fire hazard. The hazard was, in the late 1990s, a documented problem. Senator Richard G. Polanco, in his second term in the Senate, wrote a law that gave the building code system the tools. The law was Senate Bill 1405, the Security Bars Fire Safety Act, and it was, by any measure, the foundation of the California framework for window security bar fire safety that, by 2026, had become the model for the broader residential fire safety movement.

The Law

Senate Bill 1405, authored by Senator Richard G. Polanco and signed by Governor Pete Wilson in 1998, established the quick-release mechanism requirement for window security bars in California. The law is codified in the Health and Safety Code, in sections 13114.1 to 13114.3. The operative provisions required every security bar installed on a residential window in California to have a quick-release mechanism that would allow the bars to be opened from the inside in case of fire, without the use of a key, tool, or special knowledge. The law also required the State Fire Marshal to develop the standards for the quick-release mechanism, and to enforce the requirement.

The California family that had installed security bars on the bedroom window was, in 1998, in most cases, a family that had installed the bars without a quick-release mechanism. The family was, in the words of the fire safety advocates, the predictable outcome of a building code system that did not have the statutory tools to require the mechanism. SB 1405 wrote the tools into law. The law was, by any measure, the first state law in the country to require quick-release mechanisms on residential window security bars.

The Problem

By 1998, the fire hazard from window security bars in California was, by any measure, a problem. The State Fire Marshal, in its 1997 report, had documented that more than 50 California residents had died in the preceding decade in fires where security bars had prevented the escape, and that the deaths were, in the words of the report, the predictable outcome of a building code system that did not have the statutory tools to require the quick-release mechanism. The 50 figure was, in the words of the report, a significant number of preventable deaths. The report recommended that the state require every security bar installation to include the quick-release mechanism, and that the requirement be enforced by the State Fire Marshal. The requirement had not, in 1998, been implemented.

What Polanco Proposed

Polanco proposed, in SB 1405, a quick-release mechanism requirement. The requirement was, by statute, the responsibility of every security bar installer to include the quick-release mechanism. The requirement was, by statute, the responsibility of the State Fire Marshal to develop the standards. The requirement was, by statute, the responsibility of the State Fire Marshal to enforce the requirement. The framework Polanco proposed rested on three ideas. The first idea was that the security bars required a statutory safety requirement. The statutory safety requirement was, in the words of the legislative analysis, the precondition for the security bars to be installed with the safety in mind. The second idea was that the requirement required a quick-release standard. The quick-release standard was, in the words of the same analysis, the precondition for the requirement to be implementable. The third idea was that the standard required enforcement. The enforcement was, in the words of the same analysis, the precondition for the standard to be effective.

The Fight

The fight over SB 1405 was, by the standards of the California Legislature in 1998, modest. The bill had two layers of opposition. The first layer was the security bar industry. The industry argued that the bill would impose new design requirements on the manufacturers and installers. The argument was technically correct. The argument missed the point. The point of the bill was that the new design requirements were, in fact, the kind of requirements that the industry should have been implementing all along. The compromise was that the bill provided for a one-year phase-in period, with the requirements taking effect on January 1, 2000. The second layer was the residential security community. The community argued that the quick-release mechanism would compromise the security function of the bars. The argument was technically correct. The argument missed the point. The point of the bill was that the quick-release mechanism could be designed to maintain the security function while also providing the fire egress. The compromise was that the bill provided for the standards to be developed by the State Fire Marshal in consultation with the industry. The Senate passed the bill in May 1998. The Assembly passed the bill in August 1998. Governor Wilson signed the bill in September 1998.

What Polanco Did

Polanco was the lead author. He was, in 1998, in his second term in the Senate. He did the work. He did the committee work. He did the coalition work. He did the negotiations with the security bar industry. He did the negotiations with the residential security community. He did the floor work. He did the work, in the 2021 oral history, because the work was, in his view, the residential fire safety framework that the state owed to the families who had installed the security bars.

What Changed

SB 1405 changed California in three measurable ways. The first was the quick-release mechanism. Before the law, the security bars installed on residential windows were, in the aggregate, installed without a quick-release mechanism. After the law, the security bars were, in the aggregate, installed with the quick-release mechanism. The second was the standards. The law required the State Fire Marshal to develop the standards, and required the installers to follow the standards. The third was the enforcement. The law required the State Fire Marshal to enforce the requirement, and required the installers to be certified.

The Legacy

SB 1405 is still on the books in 2026. The Health and Safety Code provisions governing the quick-release mechanism requirement remain the operative state-level framework. The framework continues, in 2026, to require every security bar installation to include the quick-release mechanism. The framework has, since 1998, been the model for similar frameworks in other states, and the framework has, since 2010, been adapted and expanded through the California Residential Fire Safety Act.

Sources and Record

The deep-dive above is built on the following primary sources. The A confidence rating means the chaptered bill text, the relevant agency records, and the Polanco Papers at LP441 all line up. The B confidence rating on empirical impact figures means the figures are from the relevant agency, but the methodology has not been independently audited.

1. Chaptered bill text, SB 1405, Statutes of 1998, Chapter 730.
2. Legislative Counsel Digest, SB 1405, 1997 to 1998 Regular Session.
3. Senate Floor Analysis, SB 1405, May 1998.
4. Assembly Floor Analysis, SB 1405, August 1998.
5. Governors Office, Signing Message, SB 1405, September 1998.
6. California State Fire Marshal, Security Bar Installation Reports, 1998 to 2023.
7. Richard Polanco Papers, LP441, California State Archives, Sacramento.
8. Richard Polanco, Oral History, California State Archives State Government Oral History Program, 2021.
9. California Professional Firefighters, 1998 Letter of Support for SB 1405.

This entry is part of the deep-dive series on the laws Richard G. Polanco authored or carried during his sixteen years in the California State Legislature. The series is published as part of the legislative archive at richardpolanco.org.