FEMA launches National Initiative to Advance Building Codes

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched a new government-wide effort to boost national resiliency and reduce energy costs.

Under the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes, federal departments and agencies will review federal funding and financing of building construction to ensure projects follow updated model codes. The initiative will also provide incentives and support for communities to adopt modern building codes.

Members of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group will review their infrastructure grantmaking processes to ensure that they align with and support the adoption and use of current editions of the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Building Code (IBC). FEMA chairs the leadership group, consisting of another 13 federal agencies.

“By modernizing building codes, communities will not only save money through lower energy costs and protecting their property, but together, we will also save lives by ensuring our infrastructure remains resilient in the face of climate change and associated extreme weather events,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

FEMA views the adoption of current building codes as the most effective means to enable communities to become more resilient to hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other natural hazards that are increasing in frequency and severity due to the changing climate. Yet, FEMA has been until now the only federal agency that requires the construction it funds to adhere to current, hazard-resistant codes.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.