FEMA Recognizes National Building Safety Month During May: Highlights Building Professionals Who Make Our Built Environment More Resilient

WASHINGTON -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell marks the 44^th annual campaign to raise awareness about building safety.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. issued a proclamation this week to recognize and reaffirm the nation's commitment to make our buildings stronger, more sustainable and resilient in the wake of increasing climate related threats. It emphasizes the government's dedication to promoting safety measures and serves as a call to action for individuals and communities to prioritize building safety and work together towards making communities safer and more resilient.

National Building Safety Month occurs every May and stresses the importance of modern building codes and strong building code enforcement. Led by the International Code Council, FEMA supports these efforts and is committed to the work of keeping our nation’s buildings safe and built to last for generations to come.

The proclamation also recognizes FEMA’s National Initiative to Advance Building Codes which is an interagency task force including 19 federal agencies.  These agencies oversee more than 100 federal programs that impact, on average, over $600 billion in federal funding or financing of construction each year. These federal efforts are providing new means for individuals and communities across the nation to adopt the latest natural hazard-resistant building codes, improve climate resilience and reduce energy costs.  

FEMA continues to implement its building codes strategy to integrate building codes and standards across the agency’s programs and to strengthen nationwide capability for superior building performance. When a community adopts and enforces hazard-resistant building codes and standards, a baseline foundation is laid for increased resilience and a culture of preparedness by making mitigation a standard practice. 

Today, 31% of hazard-prone communities have adopted current, natural hazard-resistant building codes. There is much room to increase these numbers in local jurisdictions that are more vulnerable to natural hazards such as fires, floods and storms. For information on the current codes adopted in your community for damaging winds, hurricane winds, tornado, floods and seismic hazards risk, visit and research FEMA’s Building Codes Adoption Tracker.

As FEMA continues its focus on a Year of Resilience, the five themed weeks support the agency’s focus to build local capacity to withstand tomorrow’s hazards. The campaign – Mission Possible – kicks off with an introduction to building safety and to understand the mission of Building Safety Month and how building safety affects us all. The weekly themes include:

Understanding the Mission

Includes an introduction of building safety, what Building Safety Month is and how building safety affects us all.

Preparing a Building Safety Plan

Highlights available educational resources (water/fire, sustainability & resiliency/disaster preparedness), including downloadable brochures, for building safety tips and best practices at home and in your community.

Learning from the Pros

Shines a spotlight on building safety professionals, including what they do, how to work with them and how to become one yourself.

Engaging Your Community

Includes information on how to advocate for building safety in your community, including actionable tips on how to be a proponent of building safety and ways to get kids involved.

Celebrating Success in Building Safety

Highlighting individuals and communities who are making a difference in building safety (editorial spotlights), including sharing the current year's Building Safety Month celebrations and events.

Join FEMA and the International Code Council and support the National Building Safety Month efforts on social media with #BuildingSafetyMonth2024. 

Visit FEMA’s website for more information about the agency’s building codes efforts.