It’s the start of May, and that means it’s once again time to build up awareness of the many ways that building safety affects us all.
Each May, the International Code Council promotes Building Safety Month to emphasize the importance of modern, updated building codes and adopting practices that save lives and prevent property loss.
The 2025 theme, “Game On!,” encourages building safety professionals, municipal leaders, business owners, and residents to collaborate in learning about these practices and exploring ways to make every structure in our communities safer. Safety is a team effort, and it’s not just a technical goal, but a personal and community-centered endeavor.
Cloudpermit’s series of articles for Building Safety Month will explore ways to support building safety programs in your community, how to prepare for natural disasters, and the future of building safety technology.
For now, let’s explore the various ways the safety of our living, working, learning, and playing environments can impact our daily lives, and why modern community development software can be a crucial digital tool to support local building safety professionals in their roles.
Building Safety: A Part of Daily Life
Every day, residents in your community rely on the safety of their homes, public facilities they use like libraries and schools, businesses they visit, and the offices or workplaces where they earn a living.
Even though the safety of these structures is vitally important, building safety isn’t something that the average person considers — until something goes wrong, like a fire, hurricane, flood, or earthquake. By then, it’s too late to do anything to ensure these buildings will withstand the damage or give them time to safely evacuate.
That’s why a proactive approach to safety, which begins with the adoption of modern building codes and continues with careful property inspections as needed, can make all the difference in protecting your community’s residents.
How Building Safety Codes Save Lives
According to the latest figures from the National Fire Protection Association, approximately 1 in 4 reported fires from 2016 to 2020 occurred in homes; yet, home structure fires were responsible for 3 in 4 civilian fire deaths or injuries.
In the U.S., that added up to an average of 2,610 civilian deaths, 11,090 civilian injuries, and $7.6 billion in property damage.
Modern building codes can save lives in both direct and indirect ways, including increasing the number of residents whose housing units feature fire suppression systems and designs that slow the spread of fire.
A pilot study conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency examined the impact of adopting modern codes on preventing or minimizing the effects of structure fires in California and Colorado. It is estimated that newer codes could prevent 122 deaths and 1,076 injuries in California and 7 deaths and 66 injuries in Colorado.
Even though these newer standards can significantly improve building safety, FEMA reports that 65% of counties and communities in the United States haven’t yet adopted modern building codes.
Preventing the Financial Impact of Disasters
Modern building codes can save lives and prevent injuries, and they also have a substantial financial impact on communities. That’s why it’s a worthwhile investment for everyone to collaborate on modernizing existing structures and ensuring that new construction is as safe as possible.
According to FEMA, a new home costs about $300,000, and 1.5% of that total ($4,500) is spent to comply with additional code requirements to safeguard from hurricanes in affected areas. For this investment, $1,600 in losses due to hurricane damage is avoided annually over 30 years, preventing $48,000 in potential losses.
The National Institute of Building Sciences states that building codes have a significant impact; however, they have only added approximately 1% to construction costs compared to the 1990 standards. Adopting the latest building codes can save $11 for every dollar invested, demonstrating how this modest investment can yield significant returns over the coming decades.
Codes Matter, and So Does Enforcement
There’s no denying just how important building codes can be to avoid the loss of life and property damage due to structural fires, collapses, or natural disasters. Still, codes only work when they’re fully understood, followed, and enforced.
Local code officials, inspectors, and building departments are a vital first line of defense, ensuring their communities are prepared when fires or natural disasters strike.
Community development professionals are the backbone of local building safety, and their essential work behind the scenes every day should be recognized throughout Building Safety Month.
It’s more important than ever for municipal governments to provide the latest digital tools to these professionals, enabling them to enforce safety more efficiently. The right online permitting software, such as Cloudpermit, can expedite the permitting review process. Meanwhile, our mobile inspections app empowers local inspectors to conduct their essential work in the field, allowing them to accomplish more without incurring additional administrative tasks.
Technology can play an important role in ensuring compliance, transparency, and follow-through. There are lives at stake, so the work to improve building safety is something that can’t wait for another day.
Learn more about the ways Cloudpermit can support your community’s building safety professionals by booking a demo with us today.
