Building safety: Where you Live, Work and Play

When entering a house or building, most people don’t think about whether the structure is safe. Fortunately, City employees think about building and fire safety everyday.

To raise awareness of the importance of building safety, the City’s Planning and Development Services Department is recognizing Building Safety Week: Where you Live, Work and Play, May 4 through May 8. The Planning and Development Services Department, together with Fire Department, Housing and Neighborhood Services, Metro Health and the Solid Waste Management Department, will host informational booths during Building Safety Week from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Cliff Morton Development and Business Services Center, located at 1901 S. Alamo Street.

“The important work we do is often overlooked until a catastrophic tragedy occurs,” said Roderick J. Sanchez., director of the Planning and Development Services Department. “All year long, building safety and fire prevention officials are here to help protect the San Antonio community.”

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. The active participation of building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, builders, engineers, as well as property owners are essential to ensure structures are safe.

The following departments will have informational booths during Building Safety Week:

May 4:          Fire Department: Register for a free smoke detector
Planning and Development Services Department Building Inspectors

May 5^:            Fire Department: Fire extinguisher training, noon
Planning and Development Services Department: Construction Inspectors             Fire Department: Register for a free smoke detector

May 6:          Solid Waste Management Department: Information on Household Hazardous Waste
Metro Health Department: Food establishment permits and health  inspections.

                   Fire Department-Register for a free smoke detector

May 7:          Planning and Development Services Department: Development Services Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Inspectors

                   Fire Department: Register for a free smoke detector

May 8:          Housing and Neighborhood Services Department: Code Compliance Officers
Planning and Development Services Department – Investigation Inspectors
Fire Department-Register for a free smoke detector
 

Building Safety Week, first observed in 1980, is sponsored by the International Code Council, a membership organization dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, of which City of San Antonio is an active member. The International Code Council 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.

Visit the Development Services web site at www.sanantonio.gov/dsd for more information.

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