International Code Council to Celebrate 39th Consecutive Building Safety Month

Washington, D.C. (April 08, 2019)—This May, the International Code Council will celebrate the 39th consecutive Building Safety Month. Each year, the Code Council partners with building professionals, corporations, government agencies and other advocates to shine a light on the role building codes play in making our communities safer and more resilient. This year, Building Safety Month will focus on five topic areas:

1. preparing for natural disasters
2. training and education
3. clean and abundant water
4. construction professionals partnering with homeowners
5. innovations in building safety

Building codes are developed through a collaborative process with a wide range of stakeholders. Building Safety Month reflects the importance of these collaborations—whether it’s between building inspectors and fire marshals, or construction workers and homeowners—in ensuring a safer built environment in the 21st century.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the American Gas Association (AGA) are among the many organizations supporting Building Safety Month 2019. They share the Code Council’s commitment to developing innovative codes that meet the evolving needs of builders, homeowners and communities.

“Disaster resilience starts with building codes because they enhance public safety and property protection. FEMA encourages robust code enforcement, and FEMA is a partner in education and training to help convey the value of standardized, up-to-date building codes,” said John L. Ingargiola, EI, CBO, CFM, lead physical scientist of FEMA’s building science branch.

“Building Safety Month provides NAHB with an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of building codes that protect public health, safety and welfare without unnecessarily increasing construction costs,” said Paul Michelsohn, NAHB’s chairman of construction codes and standards. “Having building codes that provide homeowners assurance that the homes they are buying or remodeling will be safe is critical to the home building industry.”

“The American Gas Association considers safety the top priority, and the ICC codes provide a solid foundation to achieve safety in the built environment,” commented Jim Ranfone, AGA’s managing director of building codes and standards. “Building Safety Month provides the opportunity to showcase the benefits of ICC membership, the I-codes themselves, the collaborative efforts of the many different stakeholders working together and the code officials who are responsible for enforcing those codes.”

For more information, visit buildingsafetymonth.org.