Say you finished part of your basement and the only window is a small one near the ceiling. You want it secured against break-ins. You also need to be able to climb out of it in a fire. Quick release basement window security bars aim to do both: the bars stay in place against someone outside, and you can open them from inside by hand.

That second part is the point. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) warns that some security bars “can trap you in a fire” and “can also keep firefighters from getting in to rescue you.” Its safety sheet says every exit, including a barred window, must open easily from inside. It also advises you to choose bars with quick-release devices. You can read the full sheet here: NFPA Security Bar Safety sheet (hosted by the City of Kinston, NC).

Shoppers use many names for this product: security window bar, security window bars, window security bars, window security bar, and even indoor security window bars. Some also search for window security bars that open. None of those names tells you how a bar releases, or whether it releases at all. A bar that opens only with a key is not a quick release. Check the release mechanism itself, not the product name on a listing.

This guide focuses on the decision. It covers which basement windows need a release, what the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) says, how to tell a hand-operated release from a marketing phrase, and when a bar is the wrong answer. For the wider picture, see our window security bars guide.

It depends on which window it is. The 2021 IRC, section R310.1, says basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room need at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. The exceptions are limited. One example is a basement used only for mechanical equipment. If your basement is used for anything beyond equipment, expect that at least one opening must work as an escape route, and confirm that with your building department.

Section R310.1.1 says the opening must be operable from the inside “without the use of keys, tools or special knowledge.” Section R310.4.4 speaks directly to bars. Bars, grilles, covers and screens over escape openings or area wells must leave the required net clear opening. They must also be “releasable or removable from the inside without the use of a key or tool or force greater than that required for the normal operation of the escape and rescue opening.” Boulder County walks through these sections in its guide, Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings (B10). The code body itself is published by the International Code Council. Section numbers change between editions, and your local code may differ.

Size rules matter because bars sit inside the opening. A bar that releases but still crowds the opening does not help you much. The table below lists the 2021 IRC numbers and what each one means when you add a bar.

This table is not a permit check. A building official decides whether your installed window complies. What about a second or third basement window that is not the escape opening? The code language targets escape openings, so other windows may be treated differently. NFPA still advises at least two ways out of every room, and you may one day need that window. Ask your building department before you decide. For more on how these rules affect bars, see our page on window bars and fire code.

Start with the job of the window. If it is your escape opening, or the only window in a basement sleeping room, only a bar with a built-in hand release belongs there. If it is a window that is not an escape opening, you have more choices, but confirm that with your building department first. If you are comparing indoor security window bars, ask three things: where is the release, can you reach it from the floor, and can you work it by hand in the dark?

The Model A telescopes from 35 to 65 in tall. Its width is modular at 16 in per module, so you stack modules for a wider window. Bar spacing is 5.25 in, and the steel is galvanized with electrostatic paint. It mounts to the frame or the wall. SWB gives an install time of 15 to 30 minutes. The manual has you drill pilot holes and use the included anchors, so it is not a no-drilling product. Model A has no integrated quick-release, so it does not belong on an escape window. The Model B is a wall-mount bar for masonry, stucco and irregular frames, and it adjusts from 35 to 61 in tall. SWB itself lists it as not rated for fire code or egress, so it goes only on windows that are not escape openings.

The Model A/EXIT is the one to look at for an escape window. SWB describes it as its egress-compliant model and the only one with a built-in quick-release. It has a hand-operated lift-bolt release from inside and stays rigid from outside. SWB lists it at 35 in base height telescoping to 65 in, with a 43 in base width that expands with modules. Treat “egress-compliant” as SWB’s description, not a ruling. The building official decides whether your installed window complies.

Whatever you shop for, watch for these red flags:

• A keyed lock, padlock or thumb-screw that needs a tool to open
• A release you must reach through the bars or from outside
• A listing that says “meets all codes” without naming a code edition
• Instructions that tell you to weld, rivet or permanently fix a bar over a sleeping-room or escape window

Before ordering, check that your window opening falls inside the model’s height range. Measure at the real opening, not the glass. If your window is smaller or larger than the range, or you are unsure it is an escape opening, ask first.

Use the same standard the code uses: hands only, no keys, no tools, no special knowledge. Test the release that way, in daylight first and then with the lights off. Do it yourself, and have every other adult in the home do it too. If someone cannot operate the release, plan another way out for that person and tell the household.

Run through this checklist:

• Stand on the basement floor and reach the release without climbing on boxes or furniture.
• Open the release using only your hands, with no key or tool.
• Confirm the bar swings or lifts clear of the opening and does not drop back.
• Clear the path under the window of storage, shelves and laundry baskets.
• If the window opens into a well, check that the well is free of leaves, snow and debris and that any cover releases from inside.
• Close and reset the bar afterward and confirm it holds against a push from inside.

NFPA recommends a home fire drill twice a year and at least two ways out of every room. Make the basement window part of one of those drills. NFPA also says smoke alarms belong in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement. Test them monthly and replace them at 10 years. You can read the details in the NFPA Smoke Alarms at Home sheet. Bars do not replace alarms, and alarms do not replace an exit.

One firm rule: never add a keyed lock, padlock, extra screws or any fastener that needs a tool to a bar over a bedroom or basement escape window. It might feel more secure on a quiet night. In a fire, it can turn the window into a trap.

If you rent, start with your lease and your landlord. Mounting a bar usually means drilling. The Model A manual has you drill pilot holes and use the included anchors, so ask for written permission before you do anything. Our guide to window bars for apartments covers lease questions in more detail.

If a basement bedroom or living space has no window that works as an escape opening, a bar will not fix that. A bar cannot create an opening that does not exist. Talk to your landlord and your local building department about the space. If you own the home and plan a conversion, ask the building department before you finish a room.

One more limit: SWB bars are security bars. They are not child fall-prevention devices, and the 5.25 in spacing does not contain small children or pets. NFPA says a window guard or gate, or a window stop or wedge, can keep a child from falling out of an open window. Those are different products for a different problem. Do not use a security bar as a substitute.

SWB lists Model A and Model B at $85 per core module. Width is modular at 16 in per module on Model A, so a wider window needs more modules and the total goes up. Check the product page for how many modules your width needs before you order. Model B is for windows that are not escape openings, and Model A has no integrated quick-release, so neither is the answer for an escape window.

Model A/EXIT is quote only and sold online. To get a useful quote, have your window’s width and height, whether you mount on the frame or the wall, and whether the window is an escape opening. You can start from the quote request page. SWB does not publish a fixed price for it, so do not budget from a number you saw elsewhere.

Price should come after fit. A cheaper bar on an escape window is not a saving if it blocks your exit. Settle the code question with your building department first, then pick the model.