When you enter a house or building, most likely you’re not thinking about whether it is properly constructed and safe. Fortunately, local safety experts think about building safety and fire prevention every day. To help raise awareness, the City of St. Charles is celebrating Building Safety Week, May 3-9. Across the nation, communities will promote the use and understanding of building safety and fire prevention codes to protect lives and property. The 2009 theme is Building Safety: Where You Live, Work and Play.

“The important work we do is often overlooked until a catastrophic tragedy occurs,” said John Benisch, code enforcement manager for St. Charles. “When building safety and fire prevention experts inspect buildings during and after construction, we help ensure the places in which 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. To ensure 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 Benisch.  “During Building Safety Week and all year long, building safety and fire prevention officials are here to help protect you and your community,” he said.

Local events to celebrate Building Safety Week include an informational event to be held from 9 a.m. to noon on May 9 at the Lowes location, 2934 West Clay in St. Charles (636-723-2447).

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 St. Charles is 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.