Sometimes, it seems like we live in an overly regulated era.  Everywhere you look, you see warning signs or caution labels.  The nightly news carries stories about rules that will affect how we eat, drive, work, or play.  It may seem at times that we are moving toward becoming a “nanny state,” and perhaps in some ways we are.  However, when it comes to building code compliance, the price we pay is tiny compared to the gains society has made over the last several decades.  Today’s homes and businesses are far safer than those built only a few years ago.  Thousands of lives have been spared because of the new emphasis on safety, and using green construction materials is helping millions live healthier lives.

It’s easy to forget these things, which is why it makes sense to remember some of the unfortunate things that have happened in the past, due to purposeful violations of safety regulations.  So here’s a look at three tragedies that could have been prevented by following local building codes.

Charleston, SC – 2008

On June 8^th, a fire started at the Sofa Super Store, a popular furniture discounter.  The blaze swallowed several adjoining buildings before it was extinguished, but battling it claimed the lives of nine Charleston firefighters.  It was the worst loss of fire department employees since 9/11.  Also, it was directly due to ignoring the city’s building and fire codes.  Among the countless violations were these:

1. The original building was erected in the 1990s, without the builders first obtaining the required permits or submitting to safety inspections during construction.
2. No sprinklers were located anywhere in the structure.
3. Combustible materials were stored close to employee smoking areas.
4. The fire spread to the showroom only because an unsafe loading dock enclosure had been erected without fire department permission or knowledge.
5. The fire would have been much less severe if flammable liquids had not been stored near the loading dock; a clear violation of city codes.
6. The firefighter’s deaths were directly linked to the lack of properly maintained exits – yet another code violation.

In short, this senseless tragedy could have been avoided had the business’ owners complied with Charleston’s existing codes when building the structure.

December 2010, Chicago

Three days before Christmas, firefighters arrived at the location of the Sing Way Laundry.  Two of them died before the blaze was contained.  A later investigation showed that the structure’s owner had been cited numerous times for lack of building code compliance, yet had done nothing to correct the problems.  These included:

1. A collapsing roof due to decaying trusses.  In fact, it was the poor condition of the trusses that caused the building to collapse on the two men who died that day.
2. A leak in the boiler, which had been brought to the owner’s attention but never repaired.
3. Leaving the building vacant for an extended period of time without notifying city officials.

In total, the building’s owner had been cited for 47 separate violations of Chicago’s building codes, yet he never acted to correct any of them.  Had he done so, the lives of two firefighters might have been spared.

February 2003 – Rhode Island

The 1990s glam rock band Great White was performing at a nightclub called the Station in West Warwick on February 20^th, when a pyrotechnics display that was part of the show got out of hand.  As flames began to spread, the crowd of several hundred panicked and headed for the four exits all at once, effectively jamming most of the attendees inside the building.  In the tragedy that followed, 100 people died and 230 suffered injuries.  Brian Butler, a cameraman for a local TV station, was on the scene.  He later gave the following account of what happened:

“At first, there was no panic. Everybody just kind of turned. Most people still just stood there. In the other rooms, the smoke hadn’t gotten to them, the flame wasn’t that bad, they didn’t think anything of it. Well, I guess once we all started to turn toward the door, and we got bottle-necked into the front door, people just kept pushing, and eventually everyone popped out of the door, including myself.

That’s when I turned back. I went around back. There was no one coming out the back door anymore. I kicked out a side window to try to get people out of there. One guy did crawl out. I went back around the front again, and that’s when you saw people stacked on top of each other, trying to get out of the front door. And by then, the black smoke was pouring out over their heads.”

Four days later a memorial service was held for the victims of the fire.  Thousands turned out to mourn them and to show support for the families and friends.

A later investigation determined that the resulting damage and loss of life could have been greatly reduced had the club’s owners, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, complied with regulations requiring that the club have an overhead sprinkler system.  The pair pleaded “no contest” to charges brought against them several months later.  One received a 15-year sentence, the other was given 10 years.  Many or all of these events might have been avoided, had building code compliance been enforced.

Don’t try to dodge the building codes.  Let us help you comply with them.

In light of tragedies like the three we just looked at, it becomes clear why building and fire codes exist.  Obeying them is crucial for everyone’s safety.  Here at Burnham Nationwide, we can help you do just that by advising you about every aspect of the building permit process, including zoning variances, dealing with city officials, and ensuring that your structure passes every inspection.  So don’t take chances; give us a call.

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As we celebrate our first 20 years, we can’t help but wonder what’s in store for the next 20? Our valued clients associate Burnham with the uniform, a tailored blue button down with an orange Burnham logo. With confidence, we can say this branding effort has made us a fixture in City Hall, in Chicago where it all began and in thousands of municipalities nationwide. Efficiencies will be created and processes improved as we continue to leverage existing and new technologies. Our commitment to the global adoption of sustainable building and development practices will bloom bigger and brighter.

 We do know that the next 20 years will go by faster than our first – and we have already initiated efforts to improve our process and systems to enable everyone to be more productive:

 > All of our teams are utilizing iPhones, equipped with the best applications to simplify efforts in exchanging and processing information timely.  

> We have partnered with Avolve Software, Inc. and their ProjectDox™ application that will allow us to process electronic drawings, perform plan reviews, and deliver information more efficiently and effectively.

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A comprehensive national rollout often requires construction related permits from a variety of jurisdictions, departments and agencies. Our Nationwide division, working with our local circles of support, is now able to provide retailers, architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, property managers, and construction managers with expert permitting and code consulting solutions geared to their specific needs.

Through our Nationwide division we’ve helped companies such as Chase Bank, T-Mobile, Walgreens, Marriott, Starbucks and many others with their multiple location construction agendas. Our permit technicians have helped normalize the disparate permit processes for thousands of unique municipal authorities and construction projects throughout the country!

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“I was contacted by Burnham Nationwide’s San Jose office and met with Greg Sellers during a Solar convention he was attending. I had started a company 18 months prior, specializing in gas station permitting work throughout California based on a mandate of enhanced vapor recovery, from state air quality folks. With a fueling background from Mobil Oil and Hertz Corporation, I was able to help over 130 independent dealers pull their needed permits to achieve compliance.

Greg mentioned the parent company, Burnham Nationwide, specialized in building permitting services, and while his office was focused on solar efforts, he asked if I would be interested in helping out the Chicago office with permitting projects for several Chase bank branches in the Los Angeles area. The projects were a great success and we decided this could be a permanent thing. I returned home, found a small starter office and Burnham Los Angeles was born.

While we are fairly new to the Burnham family, we have moved, doubled office space and are poised for growth and market share in Southern California. Happy 20th Anniversary Burnham, it’s great to be here.”

- Fred Weaver, Burnham – Los Angeles

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“In 2004, I was working for a company that specialized in cell phone tower site acquisitions throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area. A key component of the site acquisition work was permitting and I served as the company’s in-house permit and zoning expeditor. While in that role, I would often observe Burnham employees at city hall wearing their impressive uniforms.

Shortly thereafter Carson approached my company in an effort to convince them to utilize Burnham’s services, as opposed to performing the work in-house. I was impressed by Burnham’s services as well as Carson’s enthusiasm and drive.

At the same time I was planning a move to Denver,Colorado. I reached out to Burnham to inquire about opportunities in their Denver office. During that meeting Carson informed me that – while Burnham did conduct business nationwide – they did not possess a physical office in Denver. 

In that moment, a light bulb went off in both of our heads simultaneously. Later, I helped launch Burnham’s Denver office and proudly became a Burnham colleague.

Several years later, the Burnham Denver office has made its presence felt in Denver and throughout the west, having expedited permitting for hundreds of clients along the Rocky Mountain Front Range and from Arizona to Nevada.”- Lindsey Fleener, Burnham -Denver

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“Our first office was at 299 Broadway, it was a closet that fit three folding tables and three chairs. As business grew, we moved out and up to130 William Streetand 1500 roomy square feet. My first thought was, ‘ what are we going to do with all this space?’ It quickly filled up and shortly thereafter we moved up 4 floors and added 1500 square feet of office space for a total of 3000 square feet. Our current location is directly across the street from the NYC Department of Buildings, which is convenient for our clients and us. I think we can claim to be the closest consultants to the Building Department.

 As the new guys in town, our early years in NY were challenging. Mike Gaynor even spent a couple years working the streets trying to land new clients. Now we have a staff of 15 and in the past year alone secured permits for ABS Partners Real Estate, Brookfield Properties, CB Richard Ellis, Park Tower Management, Tribeca Green & The Veneto. It’s been a wild, crazy and rewarding ride. Here’s to another 20.”

-        Tom Walsh, Burnham -New York

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At Burnham Nationwide, we can provide our clients with green building consultants whose job it is to work directly with project managers, building owners, architects, and engineers. Their role is to advise these professionals about the best ways of integrating green technologies into their next building project. Their advice concerns how to meet USGBC’s LEED certification standards as well as how to integrate green technologies that will save the building’s owner money and increase the property’s ultimate resale value. We can tailor our advice to fit the needs of your particular project.

When you speak with our green building consultants, you will discover things that you may have never realized about green technologies and methods. Some of the emerging technologies are simply too expensive to be useful right now. However, every day technologies have become more pervasive and more affordable. Our consultants can help you discover which ones are right for your project. Their experience gives them the necessary skills to crunch the numbers regarding each technology. For instance, they can help you figure out how much it will cost to implement certain technologies. These technologies could be anything from toxin absorbent paints to green roofing materials that help filter air to certain types of solar energy panels. After they help you estimate installation costs, our consultants can assist you with ascertaining the long-term value of these efforts. When looking at the long-term value, they will consider things such as how much energy you will save, how the technology will affect the security of the building’s occupants, and how it will eventually affect the property’s value.

At Burnham, we are committed to pursuing environmental excellence and creating structures that are more welcoming, more energy-efficient, more attractive, and finally, more profitable than their non-green counterparts. We extend this level of commitment to our clients so that their next project can achieve these goals. Our consultants are also trained in LEED certification standards, and we ensure that we take you through all of the necessary steps so that you receive all of the relevant tax credits and recognition that are associated with this program.

At Burnham, we believe in tailoring our offerings to your needs. If you are interested in educating your team members about the benefits of our green building practices, we can offer that to you as well. We are interested in providing professionals with information on the benefits of green building and giving them the knowledge that they need to implement these practices into their commercial or residential buildings. In addition to providing education, we can help the designers of your project add green elements.

When it comes to being green, our business model is built around a serious set of principles. We are one of the nation’s leaders in the progression of the green building movement. We serve all kinds of clients, and we offer services that address the needs of almost all types of buildings and projects. If you want someone to work with you on your next project, we would love to speak with you. Our green building consultants use proven methods, and they have the experience and organizational skills to be with you through every step of your project from drafting the plans to filing the paperwork to completing it all. We have helped many of our clients earn their LEED certifications. We have worked with projects that have focused on everything from building schools to revamping existing apartment blocks to meet contemporary green standards. To see some of our achievements, you only need to browse through our website and look at our client testimonials. We have a formula for success that allows us to help our clients execute even the most difficult and innovative projects.

Because we have been working with clients in so many capacities for so many years, we know what will help them the most. We have close relationships with the building officials in most cities. This makes the entire process of applying for permits much more streamlined and straightforward. In addition, we have also worked closely with the officials of the USGBC, and we understand what needs to be completed and filed for a project to earn their LEED certification. We let our connections and experience work for you.

At Burnham, we do not want to just sell you a service. Instead, we want to provide you with value. We give this to you in the form of our collective experience. Our experience provides the necessary leadership and technical knowledge for your next project. Our staff consists of renowned professionals with extensive knowledge about architecture, engineering and design. We are committed to facilitating and educating our clients to affect real change in the building industry. At Burnham, we believe that green buildings should be more than just the right design or a certain construction. We believe that they should be high-performing spaces that benefit their owners and their occupants. This belief allows us to help create buildings that offer more than they consume. It allows us to help create buildings that give back to the environment and the economy of their communities.  These are the commitments that you will get when working with any of our consultants.

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One of the best ways to ensure that your project runs smoothly is to hire a team of building code consultants. At Burnham, we match our clients to consultants who can help them with almost every aspect of their project. We have dedicated consultants who work with project managers, engineers, and architects to keep their projects on time and under budget. Our code consultants can tailor their services so that they address your particular concerns throughout the entire process.

When you submit a building permit application, the process can be lengthy at best. At worst, it can be a complete time-consuming disaster. Burnham’s building code consultants work hard to ensure that your submittal process is as smooth and hassle free as possible. With offices in many of the nation’s major cities, we have been able to form long lasting relationships built on trust with many local officials. We let these relationships, as well as our expertise, benefit our clients. Whether you need help remembering every bit of information that is in the two volumes of Chicago’s building codes or whether you need help deciphering certain provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we can provide you with help and guidance.

The first step, as you know, of completing a project proposal is submitting the application to the correct city department. When you work with one of our consultants, they advise you on which forms you need to complete. They look over all of your forms and blueprints to ensure that everything is up to the relevant codes. Many times, after forms are submitted, they must be resubmitted because one detail is incorrect or not up to code. When you have to resubmit something, as many contractors are all too well aware, you have to start the process over from the beginning. This can add weeks to the approval process. When you have to wait weeks for an approval, your crew will sit idle. In some cases, you may have to continue paying them or risk losing them to another project. If you have rented machinery, it may have to sit still as you continue to make payments and wait for your project to be approved.

The most important job that our code consultants do is to help our clients avoid these eventualities. They use their expertise to make sure that our clients have their permits accepted as quickly as possible. In some cities, we have such close relationships with the right officials that we are able to anticipate changes to the codes before they even occur. Regardless of the code that you have questions about, we have an expert on our team who knows the answer. When we do not know the answer, we know the right professional who does.

When you browse our website, you will see a list of the services that we provide. As discussed above, we can ensure that your building permits are filed correctly, and we can ensure that they are code compliant. In addition to serving our clients in these ways, we also offer them many other services. We can offer these services individually, or we can package them according to our clients’ needs.

Additionally, we offer inspection services. When our consultants inspect your project, they ensure that it is up to code. They have the knowledge to ensure that your project is prepared for your LEED certification inspection or for your city or county inspection. This service can save our clients just as much time and effort as our building code consulting services. We also offer solar services. Our consultants can advise you about everything from whether or not it would be cost-efficient to install solar panels to which types of solar energy would be best for your next project. Finally, we offer sustainability consulting services. These services can be used on their own or in conjunction with our standard consultancy services.

The services discussed above are the tangible services that we provide. However, when you work with Burnham’s building code consultants, you receive many intangible benefits. For instance, you will be more confident about your proposals and less anxious about your project. We add speed, creativity and a solid customer focus to all of our clients’ endeavors. When you work with one of our consultants, you are ensured that your project is done faster.

We can provide you with a team of professionals who can give you all the expertise that you need. However, to ensure that you are not overwhelmed, we allow you to work with a single point of contact, from start to finish. This consultant will ensure that you get everything that you need from your experience with Burnham Nationwide.

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Once you decide to install one of the residential solar energy systems, you will probably have more questions than answers. Because installing these panels can be such an expensive process, it is best to have your questions addressed by an expert. As part of the Burnham special experience, the experts at Burnham Nationwide can offer you advice on all of the issues that you may face during the installation of your residential solar energy systems.

Initially, most consumers want to know how much these systems cost and how well they will offset their current energy bills. The cost of installing panels can be anywhere from $7 to $9 per watt of solar power that will be generated. However, these numbers are reliant on a lot of factors. The number of hours that the sun shines every day will impact how efficiently the panels work, just as the cost of electricity in your area will determine how cost efficient the panels ultimately end up being. The amount of sunlight that the panels can collect is an essential part of how much energy they can produce.

You can manipulate the amount of sunlight that is collected by positioning your panels in the most optimal spots. Most people agree that South-facing is the best direction for most solar panels in the U.S. In addition, most people agree that being as close to the sun as possible with an unobstructed view of it is also the most advantageous. Thus, most opt to install their panels on the roof. However, this can have its pros and cons. Installing panels on the roof is usually the easiest on new construction or on a home that is getting a new roof. This means the roof beams will be exposed, and it makes it easier to attach the mounts. However, maintenance for roof-mounted panels may be a hassle for some. Therefore, in some cases, it is actually more advantageous to scatter the residential solar energy systems in other places on the homeowner’s lot.

In order to ascertain where the best place for your panels is, you should speak with a consultant. They can advise you about everything from angles to location. It’s very important to remember that the more sunlight you collect, the more energy you will create and the more efficient your system will be.

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Before starting their project, contractors must apply for San Diego building permits. In order to have their permit application approved as quickly as possible, it is imperative that the contractor knows and follows all of the San Diego building codes. Obviously, the role of these codes is to ensure that buildings are made in a way that makes them safe for human habitation or use. However, wading through pages and pages of regulations, remembering every last detail, and knowing when to apply for variances can be an extremely difficult process.

At Burnham Nationwide, we pride ourselves on having a well-trained staff of professional consultants who work with our clients every step of the way to ensure that their applications are processed as quickly and as smoothly as possible. We keep apprised of all changes to the San Diego building codes as well as the effective state and county codes. Over the years that we have been doing business in California, we have developed close relationships with city officials and other government employees so that we are one of the first to know about any upcoming changes to the codes. When you become our client, you reap the benefits of those close relationships. You also gain the advantage of our years of experience with applying and getting approved for San Diego building permits.

As you know, these codes cover every aspect of the project from electrical and plumbing work to mechanical and architectural issues. In addition, there are laws added periodically that address matters as diverse as green efforts that require outlets for electric cars, to codes that fall under the rubric of the Americans with Disabilities Act to make commercial structures more accessible for everyone. Our clients get to choose how deeply they want us involved in their project. Some clients only need us to review their applications to identify any potential mistakes that may cause the approval to get delayed. Other clients want us to work with them from project inception through the permit application process to final city inspections. Regardless of your preferences or needs, we have a consultant to assist you. We look forward to working along with you on your next San Diego building permits!

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