The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections and the City of Seattle are proud to participate in the International Code Council’s annual Building Safety Month campaign this May. This event has been the emphasis of the International Code Council and its predecessors for the past 40 years. The goal and purpose of the International Code Council was to showcase the work and mission of the codes, officials who administer them, and the positive affects the community can receive when they are administered. There are weekly themes throughout May to educate the public on important issues such as being prepared for a disaster. On May 14, Governor Inslee issued a Building Safety Month Proclamation. The City of Seattle has been and continues to be a major contributor to the development and implementation of all types of codes relevant to the built environment.
This year, we have taken the themes that the ICC has deemed as the focus for 2020, and asked our staff to be our spokespeople to help the public understand what SDCI has to offer and the programs that we have in place. We have developed our programs in collaboration with the International Code Council, State and Federal regulatory agencies, and local and regional best practices.
We’ll be conducting Facebook Live question and answer sessions each week with our employees talking about their own efforts and expertise. The sessions will cover these weekly themes:
- Week One: Disaster Preparedness
May 1 – 10
Facebook Live: May 6, 11:00 a.m. with Micah Chappell and Dean Greenleaf
Topics will include emergency management and protecting your home from an earthquake. - Week Two: Water Safety
May 11 – 17
Facebook Live: May 13, 11:00 a.m. with Eric Dripps
Topics will include protecting our waterways, Rainwise, and side sewers. - Week Three: Resiliency, Sustainability, and Innovation
May 18-24 - Week Four: Training the Next Generation
May 25- 31
Facebook Live: May 27, 11:00 a.m. with Andy Lunde
Topics will include available classes to learn the codes and the SDCI reviewer’s role versus the designer’s role. - Rescheduled:
Facebook Live: May 27, 11:30 a.m. with Jess Harris
Topics will include green building permitting, priority reviews, and code incentives.
We are focusing our Building Safety Month activities for 2020 on our Facebook Live sessions to help raise awareness of the importance of building codes to keep people safe. We invite you to join in our conversation as we bring real people to talk about real things in your home, your office, and your community. You can find us on Facebook, SeattleSDCI, and on Twitter, @SeattleSDCI.
You can learn more about Building Safety Month on the International Code Council’s 2020 Building Safety Month webpage. You can also find resources on our Building Safety Month Resources blog article.