Storm & Security

IHPA Intell The November 8 IHPA General Meeting was a well-attended session held at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, Pensacola Beach, FL. Vendor tabletop displays were open for viewing for a half-hour before the program sessions began. The first session was on Building the FORTIFIED Home™ for Now and the Future, presented by Fred Malik, FORTIFIED program manager, Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). During the last decade, storms like Katrina, Sandy, Ike and Irene have demonstrated the critical need to build more resilient homes and businesses. The IBHS FORTIFIED Home residential construction program has been adopted in Alabama, North Carolina and Mississippi as the basis for mandatory wind mitigation credits. The program is garnering interest in hurricane-prone communities across the country. Most recently, the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recognized IBHS's retrofit program for coastal rebuilding for those impacted by Sandy. FORTIFIED was selected as the only qualifying resilience standard for the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Resilience STAR™ pilot. As the adoption of FORTIFIED standards continues to gain support, coastal communities will only become stronger—economically, physically, and psychologically. Following the morning session, the tabletop displays again were open to viewing until the general meeting was called to order and luncheon served. An implementation update on the 2012 Biggert Waters Federal Flood Act was next on the agenda. Dave Treutel, chair of the IBHS National Flood Advisory Committee and president of Smart Home America, led the discussion. Treutel just returned from a meeting of the IBHS National Flood Advisory Board in Washington and had the most recent updates about the roll out and potential impacts of the 2012 Biggert Waters Flood Act. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is transitionaing to riskbased premiums and will no longer subsidize high-risk and repetitve loss properties with low premiums. Changes began taking affect on October 1, 2013, when businesses and secondary properties were to see the new premiums being implemented. All grandfathering is being removed and every property located in a flood zone will be required to get a new elevation certificate for renewals after October 1. After the general meeting was adjourned, the tabletop displays were open for viewing until the afternoon session began. Strengthening Alabama Homes—Mitigation Grant Program was presented by Charles Angel, deputy director 24 of the Alabama Department of Insurance, and Alex Carey, executive director of Smart Home America. Smart Home America is a grassroots not-for-profit organiation dedicated to improving the resiliency of coastal communities throughout the United States. It currently is working with a host of stakeholder groups including building officials, contractors, engineers, architects, realtors, insurance agents and local governments to educate and advocate adoption of the Coastal Code Supplement (which includes the FORTIFIED requirements) into the International Residential Code. Smart Home is based in Mobile, AL, but coordinates information and knowledge with other states and communities including Mississippi, Louisiana and South Carolina. In 2012, the Alabama Legislature created broad framework for a new program called Strengthening Alabama Homes. The program is administered by the Alabama Department of Insurance (DOI). The new law created a trust fund under the control of the DOI to recieve monies from private, BO Claims, FEMA and other sources that will be used for mitigation projects in Alabama. The day ended with a casual get-together reception and networking opportunity. September Highlights The September IHPA General Meeting was held during StormEXPO 2013 at the B Ocean Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL. A special presentation was made during this meeting. IHPA president Frank Browning presented immediate past president Tom Johnston, Town & Country Industries, with the association's Industry Achievement Award. Also during StormEXPO 2013, all four of IHPA's presidents got together including the association's first president and founder, Frank Storms. STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / IBS PREVIEW 2014 Presidential lineage, from left, Frank Storms, Bill Feeley, Tom Johnston and current Present Frank Browning.

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