Building Safety Month - An International Celebration of Safe and Sensible Structures

When you enter a house or building, most likely you're not thinking about whether it is properly constructed and safe. Fortunately, your local safety experts think about building safety and fire prevention every day. To help raise awareness of building safety, the Development Services Department is celebrating Building Safety Month during May.

Local events to celebrate Building Safety Month include fire extinguisher training on May 18 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Development Business Center, located at 1901 S. Alamo St. Informational brochures of helpful information will also be provided to the public during the month.

The theme is "An International Celebration of Safe and Sensible Structures" and will highlight four areas during the week: Energy and Green Building; Disaster Safety and Mitigation; Fire Safety and Awareness; and Backyard Safety. Across the nation, leaders and communities will promote the use and understanding of these topics to protect lives and property.

"The important work we do is often overlooked until a catastrophic tragedy occurs," said Roderick Sanchez, director, Development Services. "When building safety and fire prevention experts inspect buildings during and after construction, we help to ensure that the places where you live, learn, work, worship and play are safe."

Building safety and fire prevention codes address all aspects of construction, such as structural soundness of buildings, reliability of fire prevention and suppression systems, plumbing and mechanical systems, and energy efficiency and sustainability. To ensure buildings are safe requires the active participation of building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, builders, engineers, and others in the construction industry, as well as property owners.

"Public safety is our number one concern," said Sanchez. "During Building Safety Week and all year long, building safety and fire prevention officials are here to help protect you and your city community."

Over the last two years, nearly 4,000 people and more than 70 jurisdictions from across the United States have issued proclamations, declarations and letters of support for Building Safety Month.

The International Code Council (ICC) is a membership association dedicated to building safety, fire prevention and energy efficiency, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states choose the International Codes, building safety codes developed by the International Code Council. The International Codes also serve as the basis for construction of federal properties around the world, and as a reference for many nations outside the United States.

Building Safety Month is sponsored by the International Code Council Foundation (ICCF) - a non-profit subsidiary of the International Code Council (ICC).