By Sunny Isles Beach Building Department Staff

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 Sunny Isles Beach Building Departmentis celebrating Building Safety Week from May 5 through 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.”

“Unfortunately, the work we do is often overlooked until a catastrophic tragedy occurs,” said Clayton L. Parker, Building Official. “When our 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.

Remember that your home or business is an investment. If your construction project does not comply with the codes adopted by your community, the value of your investment could be reduced. Property insurers may not cover work done without permits and inspections. If you decide to sell a home or building that has had modifications without a permit, you may be required to tear down the addition, leave it unoccupied, or make costly repairs. Obtaining permits before starting construction/remodeling also allows the code official to protect the public by reducing the potential hazards of unsafe construction and ensuring public health, safety, and welfare. By following code guidelines, the completed project will meet minimum standards of safety and will be less likely to cause injury to you, your family, your friends, or future owners.

Ensuring that 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 Clayton L. Parker, Building Official “During Building Safety Week and all year long, building safety and fire prevention officials are here to help protect you and your City of Sunny Isles Beach community.” If you have any questions or concerns regarding a construction project in our area, please give us a call at 305-947-2150. Our Building Department Staff will be ready to assist you with any questions you may have.

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 City of Sunny Isles Beach Building Departmentis an active member. 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.