NJ adopts 2018 International Code Council regs to improve safety

The International Code Council announced Wednesday the State of New Jersey has adopted its 2018 International Codes under the guidance of its Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards in partnership with the state’s municipalities and affiliated code officials.

New Jersey leads the nation in adopting the most up-to-date building and safety codes available in the industry and implementing them with a network of highly trained, dedicated code enforcement officials, according to the Code Council.

“Safety is the number one priority, especially in this day in age,” Stephen Jones, New Jersey’s governmental relations regional manager at the Code Council, said in a statement. “The I-Codes provide minimum safeguards for people at home, at school and in the workplace. Having the latest technology readily available in New Jersey helps protect its residents against building failures, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, high-rise fires and other modern-day disasters. As the state continued to recover from the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey’s officials recognized the need to provide its residents with the highest level of construction safety possible. The adoption of the latest editions of the I-Codes help to ensure structural integrity and resilience for all of New Jersey’s residents.”

You see devastation taking place with hurricanes hitting areas that do not have up-to-date codes.

– Stephen Jones

New Jersey was previously using 2015 codes, Jones said.

“You see devastation taking place with hurricanes hitting areas that do not have up-to-date codes,” Jones said.

The I-Codes are the most widely used and adopted set of building safety codes in the United States and around the world. The Code Council updates the I-Codes every three years to incorporate the latest technologies.

The latest model codes are designed to save both time and resources after a disaster occurs. Homes and buildings that are built in compliance with the most current building safety codes result in resilient structures that minimize the risks of death, injury and property damage. Research shows that every dollar spent on mitigation saves about $11 taxpayer dollars in future disaster recovery costs, according to the Code Council.

The Code Council serves about 64,000 members and is dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build, and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures.