| Public Safety Professionals: The Front Line |
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As a public safety official we ask a great deal of you. We ask you to go out to determine just what is safe and what is not. Construction technologies and techniques vary considerably and you must take into consideration all that surrounds each structure. Failure can cost both money and lives.
That is why we at Safe Roof Systems would like to bring some support your way. We have been helping facilities managers avoid catastrophe for over 10 years with roof deflection monitoring solutions. We would like to share with you some of what we have learned, in the hopes that it will help you continue your extremely valuable public service.
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| Snow: Drift Wall & Elevation Changes |
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| Rain: Water Ponding on Roof |
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In the Northeast, Midwest and mountain regions snow is the usual roof collapse culprit. Building codes have been playing catchup for many years and have, only recently, seemed to truly balance the safety factors and economic realities.
Insurers now recognize that snow and rain produce dead loads that were often calculated as live loads, the result being many structures are under built by modern code standards.
Additionally, new construction and roof maintenance often expose existing structures to much greater loads than designed to handle. Roof monitoring should be encluded in any plan that includess significant modification or addition to an existing building.
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For many other parts of the country, sudden significant rains produce tremendous weights on roofs that are not adequately drained or have inadequately cleared drains. Roof collapses, on both large and small structures, are reported regularly. Sometimes, the drains simply cannot keep up, despite the best efforts of facilities personnel. Monitoring would help greatly, on top of a diligent maintenance plan.
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Safe Roof Systems is routinely asked our opinion on what safety officials should look for when reviewing roof structures, so we are putting together the SAFE ROOF CHECKLIST. Please feel free to modify this and use it any way you feel comfortable. Please send your feedback to Checklist@SafeRoofSystems.com.
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