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code watch
Making the Most of the Opportunity
ICC Hurricane Symposium participants examine the lessons learned and
work to develop strategies for the future.
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Examining the lessons learned from
the devastating 2004 hurricane season and developing effective strategies
for the future was the theme for the ICC Hurricane Symposium held February
11 to 13 in Tampa, FL. More than 300 representatives from the construction
industry participated in the symposium, including code officials, homebuilders,
government agency representatives and academia, to examine what worked and
what failed during last year’s hurricanes and to generate new ideas
to protect lives and property in future disasters.
The event featured a series of presentations focusing on issues related
to structural performance including building codes, roofing, windows, rainwater
management, wind speed and the performances of critical and essential facilities
and storm shelters. It was co-sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the Florida Building Commission (FBC), the Building Officials
Association of Florida (BOAF), the Institute for Business & Home Safety
(IBHS), the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of
Civil Engineers, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes and the International
Code Council Foundation.
“The 2004 Florida hurricanes have provided us with life-sized laboratories
from which we have the opportunity to collect data that can be used to improve
future homes’ and buildings’ resistance to hurricane forces,”
moderator David Harris, FAIA, president of the National Institute of Building
Sciences, told delegates during the opening session of the symposium. “The
challenge facing us today and over the next year or so is to make the most
of this opportunity.”
Paul Kidwell, a licensed professional engineer who serves on the Florida
Building Commission, pointed out that previous workshops and educational
efforts have focused on the state’s building code, while the recent
symposium provided an expanded forum for improving disaster performance
and response.
“This Hurricane Symposium is broader in scope than just the code, but
it’s an important part of the commission’s plan to develop appropriate
responses to the 2004 hurricanes. Where the first workshop initiated identification
of those problems and sharing information, this symposium will provide for
sharing of more complete analysis of the problems and initial thoughts for
appropriate solutions. The commission will be very interested in any findings
resulting from this symposium.”
ISSUES IDENTIFIED
Mitigating the threats posed by the often-unpredictable forces of nature
through the adoption and enforcement of up-to-date codes and standards emerged
as a significant issue for symposium participants. As ICC CEO James Lee
Witt observed, “We can’t stop people from building in areas that
are at high risk from natural disasters, so we must develop strong building
codes to give them the tools to minimize the dangers.”
Disaster response was another major point of interest, with presenters and
participants taking a closer look at how building departments prepared for
and responded to the 2004 hurricanes, the role of FEMA’s Mitigation
Division, proposed guidelines for scientific post-hurricane investigations
and the effort to coordinate a Disaster Contractor Network to help businesses
and homeowners repair and rebuild after disasters.
Exploration of these issues was greatly facilitated by the two days of meetings
held by the ICC Disaster Response Committee. The newly formed committee
is charged with developing a nationwide network of experts and technologies
to assist in the assessment and recovery efforts for communities. Part of
that process will include ICC’s development of a new Disaster Response
Inspector Certification Program, which will train and certify individuals
with disaster response experience to participate in the consortium.
“Damage assessment is a big thing, and those who do it realize that
time is of the essence,” notes ICC board member James T. Ryan, who
serves as Codes Administrator for Overland Park, KS, and chairs the ICC
Disaster Response Committee. “Small communities can’t handle that—they
don’t have the resources to do it. Providing this service gives our
members a chance to give back and to really learn during the process.”
The symposium’s open panel discussion served to highlight another area
of concern: providing educational opportunities for the contractors and
construction personnel. As Bob Boyer, supervisor of codes, products and
training for the Building Division of unincorporated Palm Beach County,
FL, asserted, “We’ve got to have the training for the people who
are putting in the nuts and bolts—there’s no way around it.”
These and related issues were also addressed during meetings held by the
ICC Hurricane Resistant Residential Construction Committee and ICC/National
Storm Shelter Association Consensus Committee.
CONCLUSIONS
While a number of issues were identified during the symposium as needing
further attention, the consensus among participants was that one of the
most violent Atlantic hurricane seasons on record would have been much more
devastating if not for stronger building codes and newer construction technologies.
As Florida homebuilder Richard Reynolds put it: “I think we all ought
to feel real good that our buildings have done so well.”
ICC CEO Witt agreed and suggested that expanding on that success, including
educating homeowners and the general public on the importance of building
safety, should now be the main focus of the industry.
“We all have a role and responsibility to the positions that we are
in to make people understand that what they do today will affect them tomorrow—not
only themselves but their entire communities,” he told symposium participants.
“When people’s homes are destroyed or damaged and businesses are
destroyed, or damaged and closed and never reopened, that impact affects
all of us—not only in our cities and counties and states, but our nation
as a whole.”
| Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2005 issue of
Building Safety Journal, copyright 2005, International Code Council. |
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