To help raise awareness of building safety, the city of Destin proudly celebrates Building Safety Month during May. Building Safety Month is a public safety awareness campaign to help individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe, resilient, affordable and energy-efficient homes and buildings.
“When our building safety and fire prevention experts inspect buildings and review construction plans to ensure code compliance they help to ensure the places where you live, learn, work, worship and play are safe,” said city of Destin Building Official Noell Bell. “We work closely with homebuilders, contractors, plumbers, roofers and other construction industry trades to provide maximum public safety.”
The city has partnered with Ace Hardware (Consolidated Ace Group) to promote Building Safety Month this year. During the month of May, you will see banners, posters and brochures promoting building safety in Ace Hardware on Main Street in Destin.
Each year, presidential, gubernatorial and municipal proclamations are approved to bring attention to Building Safety Month. This year’s theme is Resilient Communities Start with Building Codes. Weekly themes during Building Safety Month are: May 4-10, Don’t Get Burned–Build to Code; May 11-17, Bounce Back Faster from Disaster–Build to Code; May 18-24, Water Safe, Water Smart–Build to Code; and May 25-31 $ave Energy–Build to Code.
Homes and buildings that are built in compliance with building safety codes result in resilient structures that minimize the risks of death, injury and property damage. Regardless of the department code officials work in —building, fire, planning or elsewhere—they work hard every day to provide public safety by ensuring buildings are constructed safely. Because resilient structures minimize the risk of property damage, property owners may pay lower insurance costs and millions of taxpayer dollars can be saved when rebuilding from natural disasters.
Based on building science, technical knowledge and past experiences, model building codes provide protection from man-made and natural disasters, guarding public health and reducing property losses. The codes address all aspects of construction, from structural to fire prevention, plumbing and mechanical systems, and energy efficiency.
Building codes have protected the public for thousands of years. The earliest known code of law — the Code of Hammurabi, king of the Babylonian Empire, written circa 2200 B.C.— assessed severe penalties, including death, if a building was not constructed safely. The regulation of building construction in the United States dates back to the 1700s. In the early-1900s, the insurance industry and others with similar concerns developed the first model building code.
For more information about the city of Destin’s Building Division, visit www.cityofdestin.com. Also, be sure to check out the Helpful Brochures on the website under the Residents and Businesses tabs.