Advancing building safety

ICC caters to creating safer communities by implementing and enforcing codes and standards

The record-breaking April showers which caught UAE unawares call for risk preparedness with sustainability and capacity-building approaches. The International Building Codes (I-Codes) set forth minimum safety requirements for construction, covering structural integrity, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical design, and fire safety.

Speaking of fire safety during an ICC-hosted discussion, Lori Moore-Merrill, administrator, U.S. Fire Administration, said, “Today, fire is faster than ever before. Residential structures built with lightweight materials, furnished with synthetics, and often containing many devices powered by lithium-ion batteries provide the environment for a deadly situation should a fire occur.

"All nationally recognised modern building and fire codes require the use of life-saving technology, like smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and automatic fire sprinkler systems. We can create safer communities by implementing and enforcing codes and standards, especially in underserved and vulnerable populations. Affordable and fire-safe housing should not be mutually exclusive.”

ICC-ES, the product certification arm of ICC, is advancing the development of acceptance criteria for eco-friendly cement, advancing sustainability efforts in construction.

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