The International Code Council’s 40th annual Building Safety Month celebration, which aims to raise awareness of building safety and the role of building codes in making safer communities, is starting its first full week with a focus on “Disaster Preparedness.”
In recent years, the ICC notes in its Week One press release, natural disasters have become more frequent and more devastating. This year’s Atlantic hurricane season, which will begin on June 1st, is projected to be more active than normal. On top of this danger, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a disaster of another kind. It necessitates that builders and construction professionals, deemed essential in many jurisdictions, take special precautions in order to ensure a safe and sanitary environment. Building code professionals also play a role in ensuring that healthcare facilities, makeshift or otherwise, are safe and structurally sound.
“The current pandemic has emphasized the need for our communities to improve the safety of their buildings and enhance their ability to withstand and recover quickly from disasters, disruptions and emergencies,” says Code Council chief executive officer Dominic Sims, CBO.
According to a recent study from the National Institute of Building Sciences, municipalities that had adopted the 2018 International Codes had saved $11 for every $1 invested in earthquake, flood, and wind mitigation, as well as $4 for every $1 spent on fire mitigation.
“Simpson Strong-Tie is dedicated to providing solutions that help people design and build safer, stronger structures,” says Jeff Ellis, engineering manager for codes and compliance for Simpson Strong-Tie, a Building Safety Month sponsor. “The Week 1 theme aligns very well with our mission, as we’ve performed and supported research and testing that shows that it does not cost much more to build better to reduce risk to lives and damage to buildings, but that it does cost significantly more to not build better.”
“Resiliency comes in many forms,” says Jeff Yelle, director of OSB/EWP technology for LP Building Solutions. “From building materials and construction methods, professionals who place heightened attention to resiliency simply build better and provide added values to homeowners. Investing in building materials like LP Structural Solutions that stand up to the elements during construction and beyond can help your clients’ homes stand up to a natural disaster.”
The Code Council is hosting four virtual events throughout the month of May based around each week’s theme. This week’s webinar, focused on disaster preparedness, will take place on Thursday, May 7th at 1:00 PM. Click here for more information.
