Development Services News

City of Leeds. Alabama Building Safety Month – 2024

Week Five: Celebrating Success in Building Safety

Hello, my name is Glen Willams, I serve as the Building Inspections Superintendent for the Development Services department of the City of Leeds. Welcome to Week 5 of Building Safety Month 2024! 

Mission success! Week 5 of Building Safety Month 2024 highlights individuals and communities who are making a difference in building safety not just in May, but all year long. Here we also share celebrations and events from this year’s Building Safety Month, as well as highlights from the Code Council’s 30th anniversary.

In-person and virtual learning events for Building Safety Month are an effective way to help raise the profile of building safety professionals and the work they do in our communities and highlight how building codes help keep us all safe. We want to hear from code professionals, building departments, teachers, and community members like you on how you’re celebrating building safety!

  • In-person Building Safety Month events can range from educational events or construction site walkthroughs to mock inspections or classroom presentations at a local school.
  • Virtual Building Safety Month events are easy to set up, more cost-effective and can be attended from the comfort of home.
  • Proclamation signing events are a great way to raise awareness for building safety in your community. Click here to submit a proclamation, and don’t forget to take pictures!

Send us an email at communications@iccsafe.org with pictures and a brief description of your event to be featured below!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the International Code Council! To celebrate this historic milestone, we will be releasing an interactive timeline that includes major moments in Code Council history, a short documentary video that features important voices over the past 30 years, a special museum-style booth at our annual conference and more.

We'll be rolling out exciting initiatives all year long – stay tuned for more!

City of Leeds. Alabama Building Safety Month – 2024

Week Four: Engaging Your Community

Hello, my name is Glen Willams, I serve as the Building Inspections Superintendent for the Development Services department of the City of Leeds. Welcome to Week 4 of Building Safety Month 2024! 

Week 4 gives you all the tips and tools you need to engage and advocate for building safety in your community! Now's the time to speak up and let your voice be heard by attending city council meetings, sending press releases and more. Here we share fun and educational resources to get kids involved with Building Safety Month, too!

Let Your Voice Be Heard - We all have a part to play in making sure the places where we live, work and play are safe for not only ourselves, but our family, friends, and neighbors, too. Be the change you'd like to see in your community by speaking up about building safety. From reaching out to your local media, to advocating for building safety to local leadership, even the smallest action can ultimately save lives. Here we've included education and advocacy tips.

    Talk to your network about building safety and share fact-based information and resources on your social media accounts.

    Share news releases with your local newspapers, radio stations and television networks to encourage local media to cover stories related to building safety.

    Share building safety information or concerns with your public information officer, city manager or mayor.

    Plan community events to raise awareness or attend local events about building safety.

    Contact the code officials in your area to learn more about the building industry and discover local volunteer opportunities.

Kids learn the basics of building safety from an early age – without even knowing it! ICC has put together resources on their Kids Corner page to help parents, teachers and community leaders teach kids what building safety professionals do, and how they make our homes and communities safer for everyone. With a little help from CODiE the Cheetah, kids can work through their Building Safety Month activity book to complete their training and earn a certificate as a Junior Code Official (and submit a proclamation!).

Listen to their special episode of the Pulse Podcast on “Kids and Building Safety”. Print the same checklist used in the episode for an immersive and interactive building safety experience at home.

Create a classroom activity that includes building safety themes and objectives. 

Create fun puzzles and games that teach kids what to do to keep themselves and their families safe, aware, and prepared.

Parents, teachers, and chapter leaders, look for Building Safety Month-themed items that are perfect for little aspiring building safety professionals at home.

City of Leeds. Alabama Building Safety Month – 2024 

Week Three: Learning from the Pros 

Hello, my name is Glen Willams, I serve as the Building Inspections Superintendent for the Development Services department of the City of Leeds. Welcome to Week 3 of Building Safety Month 2024! 

Week 3 of Building Safety Month shares a glimpse into the world of building safety professionals by outlining different roles and their responsibilities, as well as spotlighting how building safety professionals make a difference in their communities. We also provide examples of when you should call a building safety professional, specifically for permitting, home renovations or buying a house.

Do you have a building safety professional you'd like to acknowledge? Let us know on social media, and use #BuildingSafety365 to help spread the word about Building Safety Month!

Who are Building Safety Professionals? - Building safety professionals are the silent defenders of public safety. They provide guidance and advice to architects, engineers, and contractors to help them bring building projects to life while ensuring safety for occupants and residents. Building safety professionals also help keep existing buildings safe by conducting inspections and adopting the latest building codes.

Building safety professionals:

    Include building inspectors of all kinds, building officials, plans examiners, permit technicians, fire marshals and more.

    Train constantly to keep up with the latest codes and standards.

    Enforce code compliance to empower and educate partners to embrace and integrate safety standards in their work.

    Ensure that buildings are constructed to withstand the stress of everyday use.

    Perform safety checks that protect your home from emergencies before fire, flood or disaster strike.

    Support economic development by making our buildings studier, and therefore longer lasting.

    Play a significant role in community planning decision making as a connection between government, business and built environment partners.

When to Call a Professional - Building safety professionals are an essential piece in the building and construction puzzle and are engaged in the building process from the initial building plan to the finished product. Always check with your local building safety department before beginning home improvement projects – requirements vary, but many building safety departments require permits for home improvement projects, including electrical, mechanical, structural or plumbing work. Follow-up inspections provide a measure of safety to protect your life and property.

Code officials bring building codes to life through:

    Site inspections

    Code interpretation support and consultations.

    Renovations and rebuilding

    Building plan and permit approvals

Building Safety Month – 2024 

Week Two: Preparing a Building Safety Plan 

Welcome to Week 2 of Building Safety Month 2024! Week 2 of Building Safety Month 2024 focuses on how building safety impacts our everyday life and highlights the things we can do at home to stay safe. Here we share fire and water safety tips and home maintenance best practices, how to prepare for a disaster and how to plan to limit damages to buildings from natural hazards in your community, and how to be more sustainable to ensure a cleaner and greener tomorrow.

Fire, Water and Electrical Safety - Modern homes and buildings incorporate the latest building codes and are designed to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks. While building safety professionals help maintain this system, there are preventative tasks that all contribute to occupant health, occupant safety and security and overall sustainability (more on this in the last section).

Here we've listed a few brief fire safety tips and be sure to also download and review our guides on home fire, electrical and water safety below.

•    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.

Sustainability at Home - The Code Council is helping our communities forge a path forward on energy and sustainability to confront the impacts 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 (more below) 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. Be sure to check your local rules on rainwater harvesting prior to installation.

The Code Council provides resources to promote Building Safety Month including safety tip brochures, promotional graphics, and resources for students. You can find these resources at: https://iccsafe.org. 

City of Leeds. Alabama Building Safety Month – 2024

Week One: Understanding the Mission

Hello, my name is Glen Willams, I serve as the Building Inspections Superintendent for the Development Services department of the City of Leeds. Welcome to Week 1 of Building Safety Month 2024! 

As part of our "Understanding the Mission" theme, we’re kicking things off by covering the basics of building safety and sharing a bit about Building Safety Month. It’s mission critical – building safety is the responsibility of us all, and we’re counting on you to help keep the places where we live, work, and play safe! 

Evidence of “building safety” is all around us. From an individual level, building safety can include installing smoke alarms in your house or giving portable heaters at least three feet of space. From a community level, building safety can include adopting modern building codes or enacting sustainability initiatives. 

Remember, building safety is a comprehensive mission that is only possible when we work together for positive change. 

• All communities need building codes to protect their citizens from hazards like fires, weather-related events, and structural collapse. 

• Building codes are society's best way of protecting homes, offices, schools, manufacturing facilities, stores, and entertainment venues. 

• Building safety professionals, including code officials, workday in and day out to keep the public safe. 

Join the Building Safety Month conversation all month long – tag the International Code Council on social media, and use #BuildingSafety365 to help spread the word! 

The Code Council provides resources to promote Building Safety Month including safety tip brochures, promotional graphics, and resources for students. You can find these resources at: https://iccsafe.org. 

May is Building Safety Month

City of Leeds Building Safety Month 2024 - Introduction

Hello, my name is Glen Willams, I serve as the Building Inspections Superintendent for the Development Services Department of the City of Leeds. 

May is Building Safety Month, an international celebration that takes place in May to raise awareness about building safety. Our goal at the City of Leeds is to help educate individuals, families, and businesses on what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures, reinforce the need for the adoption of modern, regularly updated building codes and highlight the well-trained professionals who work year-round to ensure our safety. 

2024 marks the 44th edition of Building Safety Month. Last year, almost 400 jurisdictions proclaimed May 2023 Building Safety Month, including President Biden, governors, mayors, county executives and others. As superintendent, I am honored to lead my staff who demonstrate daily their dedication to the safety of residents. We ensure the integrity of our structures and the protection of our natural environment. We have all chosen a life of service, and I am grateful for the partnerships we’ve created with our community to make Leeds better and safer. 

The Code Council provides resources to promote Building Safety Month including safety tip brochures, promotional graphics, and resources for students. You can find these resources at: https://iccsafe.org. 

Celebrate with us by sharing this year's poster, your celebrations and more by using our hashtag #BuildingSafetyMonth2024 on social media.