Tornado shelters for new schools will be required in Fort Worth
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The shelter must be able to withstand winds in excess of 250 miles per hour, or an EF-4 rated tornado, according to the code.
The bulk of the updated building code will take effect
The later date was done to allow districts that have schools in the design phase and are tied to bond dollars already approved the chance to get the projects permitted before the new rule takes effect, said
The school districts began learning of the pending changes this summer in meetings with city officials, Gray said. It was the school districts that requested the delay, she said.
We talked to them about it in July and we talked about it extensively with them in August.
"We talked to them about it in July and we talked about it extensively with them in August," Gray said.
The Northwest school district appears to be the only district that will try and get schools permitted before
Schools already under construction are grandfathered under the proposed updated code.
'Significant cost ramifications'
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Schools will see significant cost ramifications. The requirements are pretty stringent.
"Schools will see significant cost ramifications," Jaynes said. "The requirements are pretty stringent."
Six year updates
An updated code reflects latest industry standards. The city's Insurance Service Office rating, or ISO, an organization that tracks property and casualty insurance risk, such as a community's ability to handle fires, is based in part on the strength of a city's building code. Homeowner and commercial property insurance rates are based on that rating as well. The better the code, the better the insurance.
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Bond said he's not sure how much more the district will be affected.
"It's something we will have to consider going forward," Bond said.
'You never want to gamble'
The new code will certainly impact districts in fast-growing areas of
Many of its schools use the same footprint as a cost-savings measure, but the district will now have to rely on its architects to change that design to accommodate for the new safe area, he said.
"I believe it's significant," Kirchner said of the cost.
It's just a matter of time before all cities adopt the code. It's just part of doing business right now.
The challenge for districts will come when they build high schools, which have many more people in them making the required size of the storm shelter a large footprint, Kidd said.
"It's just a matter of time before all cities adopt the code," Kidd said. "It's just part of doing business right now."
"Schools are one of the safest places you can be already," she said. "Safety is something you never want to gamble with."
And,
"That's going to become huge," Bracken said the requirement.
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