Contact: Will Crew (209) 577-5231
No. 08-122
April 24, 2008

Building Safety: Where You Live, Work and Play

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 City of Modesto Building Safety Division of the Community and Economic Development Department and the Fire Prevention Division of the Modesto Fire Department are celebrating Building Safety Week, May 5-11. Across the nation, communities will promote the use and understanding of building safety and fire prevention codes to protect lives and property. The theme is "Building Safety: Where You Live, Work and Play."

"The important work we do is often overlooked until a catastrophic tragedy occurs," said Will Crew, Chief Building Official of the Building Safety Division in the Community and Economic Development Department. "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 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 Crew. "During Building Safety Week and all year long, building safety and fire prevention officials are here to help protect you and our Modesto community."

Local events to celebrate Building Safety Week include an open house scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1010 Tenth Street, third floor, room 3001. The public is welcome to come and celebrate at this event. Refreshments will be served, along with information booths from Stanislaus County Building Inspection, Yosemite Chapter of ICC, the Modesto Fire Prevention Division of the Modesto Fire Department and the Building Safety Division of the Community and Economic Development Department will be on display.

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 the Building Safety Division of the Community and Economic Development Department and the Fire Prevention Division of the Modesto Fire Department are active members. 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.

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To contact the City of Modesto Public Information Office, 
call Jessica Smart at (209) 571-5125. Email: jsmart@modestogov.com