Margin for error when a house fell on Buster Keaton

In Steamboat Willie, a house threatens to flatten Buster Keaton, and it was said the margin of error was only a few inches. According to James Metz's Mathematics Teacher, that's not quite correct.

Keaton was 5 feet 5 inches tall; if that the “hinge” of the facade is 5 inches above the surface of the ground, the attic window is 12 feet above that, and the window is 3 feet high, he finds that the top of the window came only within about 1.5 feet of Keaton’s head.

Still...