Building Safety Month 2023

Building Safety Starts at Home

Welcome to Building Safety Month 2023! As part of our theme, we’re highlighting “Building Safety Starts at Home” and how building safety impacts our everyday life as family members, friends and individuals at home. Here we’ll dive into everything from fire safety tips and home maintenance best practices, to how to be more sustainable to ensure a cleaner and greener tomorrow.

Fire Safety at Home

Modern homes and buildings incorporate the latest building codes and are designed to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks. If a fire does break out, it’s critical to know how to make a safe exit- it takes less than 30 seconds for a small flame to burn completely out of control and turn into a major fire.

Here are a few safety tips:

• Put a smoke alarm on every level of your home, outside each sleeping area and inside every bedroom.
• Test each smoke alarm regularly. Keep batteries fresh by replacing them annually.
• Make an escape plan so everyone knows how to get out fast. Pick a meeting place outside the home where everyone will meet.
• Portable heaters need their space. Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away.
• Keep all items that can burn away from your home, clean leaves from your gutters and clear dead leaves and branches from shrubs and trees

Building Safety at Home

Regardless if you own your own home or you’re renting, keeping your home maintained is important to ensure you’re living in a safe environment. Home maintenance encompasses a wide range of preventative tasks that all contribute to occupant health, occupant safety and security.

• Never overload electrical cords or power strips. Be sure the total amount of energy used by appliances and lights plugged into the cord or strip does not exceed that capacity.
• Don’t use appliances that have damaged cords.
• For mold prevention, watch for leaky pipes, condensation and wet spots, and fix the sources of moisture problems as soon as possible.
• There are several materials and items that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet, including medication, disposable wipes, coffee grounds, and more.
• A barbeque grill shall be placed away from siding, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches. Do not use grills in a garage, porch or enclosed area that could trap carbon monoxide.
• Keep children away from grills when in use. Establish a safety zone around the grill and instruct children to remain outside of the zone (a chalk line works great for this purpose). Never leave the grill unattended.

Sustainability at Home

The International Code Council is helping our communities forge a path forward on energy and sustainability to confront the impact of a changing climate, and these guiding tenants can be used at home, too! With fresh water supplies at risk and an ever-increasing load on the power grid threatening communities around the world, every proactive step we take at home makes a big difference in decreasing our footprint and burden on the system. Keep these tips in mind the next time you set your thermostat, plan a home renovation and more.

• Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators, and use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks.
• Never dump anything down storm drains.
• Change the filters in the heating and cooling system of your home regularly.
• Replace your light bulbs with LEDs, which use up to 90 percent less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
• Design your home with materials that are easily recyclable, reusable, renewable, durable, affordable and low maintenance.
• Build a rain garden to capture roof drainage and divert it to your garden or landscaping.

Disaster Preparedness

Having an evacuation and communication plan in place and an emergency supply kit on hand can help protect you and your loved ones. Review these simple, life-saving tips and visit Ready.gov for specific tips on dealing with earthquakes, extreme heat, floods, home fires, wildfires and more.

• Develop a family action plan and share with everyone in your family, so you will know where to go when an evacuation is called.
• Review at least two exit routes from your home or neighborhood to a designated meeting place for your family.
• Create a disaster supply kit that will allow you to remain in your home after a disaster, or for use after evacuating to a safer location. Be sure the necessities in your kit are fresh and restored as necessary.
• Stay tuned to radio, TV, and NOAA Weather Radio for official updates and critical lifesaving weather information. Remember reception is usually best if placed near a window.

Questions? Contact Building Permit Technician Jeremy Austin at jeremy.austin@ci.florence.or.us