| If we were to go back 100 years ago, back to | | | | 1978, there was very little insulation going into |
| the early 1900s, we would find that there wasn't | | | | most homes and smoke detectors weren't |
| much in the way of building safety or even | | | | required. |
| building codes. A long time ago, building and safety | | | | It wasn't that long ago, but the building and safety |
| wasn't a big concern to most cities and would | | | | codes have changed drastically as more solutions |
| have probably been a big burden to any | | | | were required to solve safety problems. |
| construction company. | | | | Advancements in building safety are usually the |
| Today things are a little bit different as building | | | | direct result of injuries and deaths in homes, |
| contractors understand the reasons why we | | | | shopping malls, places we work and even |
| have building and safety departments. Things like | | | | Disneyland. |
| smoke detectors, fire egress windows, minimum | | | | If people are dying or getting injured and there is |
| widths for hallways, stairways and bedrooms | | | | any way that we can avoid it, you can plan on |
| have become standard practices, in the building | | | | building code changes and updates. The Building |
| industry. | | | | and Safety Department saves lives, but rarely |
| Anyone who's been in the building and remodeling | | | | gets the credit as policeman and firemen rush to |
| business for as long as I have understands the | | | | the rescue. Thanks for all of you out there who |
| importance of almost every building code that's | | | | makes it possible for firemen and policemen to |
| enforced today. When I first started working in | | | | enter a burning building and save more lives. |