Week 3 of Building Safety Month focuses on Protecting Communities from Disasters

Washington, D.C. — Week 3 (May 13-19) of the international campaign, Building Safety Month, presented by the International Code Council, focuses on “Protecting Communities from Disasters.”

Last year’s devastating hurricane season and rampant wildfires highlight the necessity of focusing on building safety and building codes to protect homes and communities. Disaster mitigation efforts such as building code adoption and enforcement is one of the strongest strategies jurisdictions can take to protect a community against the effects of natural hazards. Mitigation increases occupant health and safety during a disaster, protects the local tax base, ensures continuity of essential services, and supports more rapid recovery from disasters.

The Code Council’s International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (WUI) is a supplement to the building and fire code that provides additional safety in areas determined to be highly susceptible to wildland fires. Consisting of tools to determine the fire hazard severity based on topography and vegetation types, the WUI provides minimum requirements that protect public health, safety and welfare.

Explore the week 3 interactive digital poster about the WUI at https://media.iccsafe.org/BSM-posters/week3.

Visit www.buildingsafetymonth.org for more information, and join the online conversation using the hashtag #ICCBSM18.