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Around FBOA Land
Building Department Personnel
will no longer talk to people in person.
We will, however, take voice mail messages and emails from 8am
to 4:30pm
Damage Assessment A Success!
By Michael Spry
The Damage Assessment training that was recently provided to building
officials throughout the state has proven substantially beneficial
to two of Ohioís County Emergency Managers. The newly developed
Emergency Response Team, lead by Ray Sebastian, C.B.O., Flood Plain
Manager in Clermont County and Mike Spry, City of Cincinnati Building
Department, were called out for the first time to Washington County
and Marietta, Ohio on September 27, 2004, for a three day adventure.
Twenty building officials, consisting of building inspectors and
electrical inspectors, were deployed from various building departments
throughout the state. Over a two and a half day period, ten two-man
teams performed damage assessment inspections, issued permits and
provided emergency assistance information to owners of over 1200
flood-damaged structures.
The waters had barely receded, and a plea for assistance was directed
to all Ohio C.B.O.s via the OBOA e-mail system. The return responses
immediately poured in, and the Emergency Response Team was called
out a second time to Belmont County, Ohio, which lies on the banks
of the Ohio directly across the river from Wheeling, West Virginia.
Again coordinated by Ray Sebastian and Mike Spry, the Emergency
Response Team arrived in Belmont County on October 18, 2004, for
what was originally scheduled to be a two-day event. Unfortunately
the early estimate of one to two hundred flood-damaged structures
had turned into double the original estimate and the inspection
teams stayed on to complete the task at hand.
To date, Ohio is the only State in the Union that has taken on the
task of providing qualified, trained inspection assistance at the
time of a natural disaster. The original request was voiced by The
Emergency Management Agency to ensure qualified people would be
available to perform damage assessment at the time when disaster
strikes. In a joint effort between OC/Nibs, OEMA and OBOA, this
concept has come to fruition. The IMAC and MOU have been set in
place.
This needed service has been a long time in the making and now that
there is an implemented plan, we also have an opportunity. It is
the opportunity to be viewed as the professionals that make a difference
in the built environment. The communities will have the ability
to see inspectors as a desirable commodity that will assist with
long-term community growth. They can see the professionalism and
care being extended to people who are in need. Hopefully, when we
leave an area, the people who have been assisted will have a better
understanding of what we do and the necessity of experienced building
officials. This is only the beginning. With the world changing on
a daily basis, we can't predict what level this service may be needed
in the future.
The results of our first, second and future calls to respond will
be reviewed by the Disaster Response Team Committee led by Ray Sebastian.
They will meet with the Building Departments and the EMA Directors
in the counties that have received assistance in order to ensure
the success of the system and to better serve the needs of the effected
communities.
The Disaster Response Team also plans to meet with Nancy Olsen,
the FEMA Director in our area, to assure the cooperation and coordination
between the local jurisdictions, OEMA, the County EMAís,
the Flood Plain Administrators and FEMA. Since the State of Ohio
is the only State to provide this level of assistance, it may be
necessary to implement additional rules and or legislation to accommodate
our efforts. The Disaster Response Team Committee will provide every
effort to ensure that all the necessary steps are taken to make
this initiative a success.
A well-deserved THANK YOU has been extended to all the inspectors
and jurisdictions that have participated in this effort. They are
Ray Sebastian, Clermont County; Mike Spry, City of Cincinnati; Joe
Scherler, Delaware County; Joseph Amato, Delaware County; Scott
Wallace, City of Moraine; John Skidmore, City of Mason; Ed Loper,
City of Dublin; D. John Smith, City of Columbus; Michael Walters,
City of Columbus; David Kay, City of Columbus; Charles Nagy, City
of Columbus; John Humphrey, City of Fairborn; Bob Price, City of
Dublin; Jan Rozanski, City of Dublin; Roger Foster, City of Cincinnati;
Joe Nimon, City of Columbus; John Dammann, Butler County; Phillip
Teal, State of Ohio Department of Industrial Compliance; Warren
Connolly, State of Ohio; Reginald Pickering, State of Ohio; Jerry
Patterson, City of Sharonville; Charlie Silver, City of Kettering;
Bill McErlane, City of Springdale; Robert Malin, Clermont County;
Robert Wilcox, Clermont County; Terry Welker, City of Kettering;
and Mike Siehl, City of Englewood.
Note: As of the writing of this article, there are still inspectors
in Belmont County performing damage assessment inspections. The
team, when finished, anticipates having inspected between 400 and
600 buildings.
2005 Nominations - Download
Printable PDF
2005
FBOA Scholarship Info- Download
Printable PDF
Five-County Building Officials Association would like to recognize
the 2004 Annual Golf Outing hole sponsors for their valuable contributions.
Akron Division IAEI
Braman Electric- 3376 Akron
View Dr. Barberton, Ohio 44203
Thompson
Electric- 49 Northmoreland Munroe Falls, Ohio 44262
Speelman
Electric- 385 Commerce St. Tallmadge, Ohio 44278
Phillips/Sekanick
Architects- 142 E. Market St. Warren, Ohio 44481
Superior
Walls of Ohio Inc.- 1401 S. Pine Ave. Warren, Ohio 44483
Kitchen & Counter- 5200
E. Market St. Warren, Ohio 44484
Raub
Construction Corp.- 1024 N. Main St. Niles, Ohio 44446
North Park Plumbing- 1660
N. Park Ave. Warren, Ohio 44483
Dan
Marchetta Const.- 525 Cleveland-Massillon Rd. Akron, Ohio
44333
HBA Summit-Portage-
799 White Pond Dr. Akron, Ohio 44320
Fok
& Associates- 3896 Mahoning Ave. Youngstown, Ohio 44515
Reliable Real Estate- 213
Youngstown-Warren Rd. Niles, Ohio 44446
Painters
Local- 476 291 McClurg Rd. Youngstown, Ohio 44512
Sandstone
Inc.- P.O. Box 4153 Brecksville, Ohio 44141
Perkins
Family Restaurant- 231 Chestnut St. Meadville, PA 16335
Worn Furnace Co.- 7541 Mines
Rd. S.E. Warren, Ohio 44484
Westra
Construction Inc.- 4002 Fenton Ave. Harrisburg, PA. 17109
Diane Sauer’s Chevrolet-
700 Niles Rd. S.E. Warren, Ohio 44483
City
of Warren Bldg. Dept.- 540 Laird Ave. S.E. Warren, Ohio 44484
From all the members of the Five-County Building Officials Association,
THANK YOU
www.fboa.org
Tom Moore, Director (Golf Committee)
Chris Taneyhill, Director (Golf Committee)
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