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MISSION
The CASA Corps Program within Airline Ambassadors International was established in September 2003 to facilitate the transfer and local evolution of the international building code and building life safety cultures. The program allows building professionals to engage in high level and local technical exchange through travel. By imparting critical relevant information on building codes and the construction and municipal culture which supports them, the CASA Corps Program seeks to reduce deaths and economic loss due to earthquakes and other natural disasters in developing countries.
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Fire Chief from Las Cruses New Mexico speaking in Ecuador |
American Architect Inspecting Disaster reconstruction in El Salvador |
On December 23, 2003, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Paso Robles, California, resulting in the deaths of two people. Three days later and half a world away, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Bam, Iran killing 26,000 people. Similar events occur in different parts of the world with dramatically different results: Why? The answer is simple. California has a modern construction culture where up to date building codes and standards assure that buildings are constructed safely. Inversely, Iran lacks the resources and access to information to our culture of building codes.
SOMETHING NEW
Bringing technical training programs to developing nations is not a novel concept. In fact, there are Many examples of this over the past 30 years in the disaster relief and development community. Unfortunately despite many attempts by these programs to address the issue developing nations remain more vulnerable to the consequences of inadequate construction than developed nations; and the gap continues to widen exponentially.
Airline Ambassador International bridges this gap by creating a context for professionals to share their modern building code skills by matching world resources to world need. Through travel, members transfer their skills to help local communities understand how to establish and sustain a technically modern building code culture.
The CASA Corps Program is comprised of licensed building professionals. The program partners critical members of both recipient and host communities.
HISTORY
The CASA Corps Program grew out of an initiative by the Airline Ambassadors Organization, a 6,000 member NGO that helps to bring humanitarian assistance to countries following natural disasters. The founders of the CASA Corps program are practitioners in the building and construction industry: Stephen Forneris, a licensed architect with practices in New York and Ecuador and a certified New York State building code official; and David Rivard, an ironworker and licensed contractor in the State of California.
Following the 2001 earthquake in El Salvador that killed over 2,000 people, members of Airline Ambassadors (precursors to the CASA Corps program) worked in coordination with building code associations and political authorities in El Salvador and Ecuador to implement the Codes And Safety Act of the Americas that would enhance the educational and administrative capacities of these countries as per building codes. They drew attention to the fact that although the Government of the United States had spent 98 million dollars on seismic re-construction in El Salvador 15 years earlier, no improvements and construction methods were apparent from damages incurred in the 2001 quake. A UN radius project study projecting further seismic danger in El Salvador and Ecuador maintained that similar disasters would be imminent unless action was taken to make real improvements in building and construction methods.
Their efforts culminated in the passage of a U.S. law in October 2002, entitled Program to Improve Building Construction and Practices in Latin American Countries popularly referred to as the CASA Act (Codes and Safety for the Americas Act). In the words of the original sponsor of the legislation, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, the CASA Act will improve building safety in Latin America, increase the cost-effectiveness of our disaster relief assistance and most importantly save lives.
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US contractor inspecting fire damaged congress building in Ecuador |
El Salvador Inspection and Documentation |
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
The CASA Corps program is currently engaged with various stakeholders[1] to carry out the legislations mandate of improving building safety in Latin America. To date, the group has sponsored a series of free instructional seminars in Ecuador and El Salvador, bringing U.S. architects, contractors, building and fire officials into these countries to share the building code culture with their Latin American counterparts. This simple exchange of knowledge is a key step in making buildings safer in the region, and ultimately saving lives. Early 2005 marked the release of a Spanish language building code manual developed by the major stakeholders both locally and in the U.S.
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Meeting with El Salvador architects and engineering association |
Joint lectures with USAand Ecuadorian Fire Chief |
ADVOCACY
In 2000, President Bush signed foreign operations HR 1646 into law. Included in this law was a small prevision titled Program to Improve Building Construction and Practices in Latin American Countries.For ease in communication, many refer to this as the CASA Act (Codes and Safety for the Americas Act.). H 1664 and S.1401
CASA was the name originally placed on the bill when Senator Christopher Dodd first proposed the legislation in July 2001. The intent of the bill was made quite clear from Senators Dodds statement printed in the National Congressional Record July, 19 2001. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that will improve building safety in Latin America, increase the cost-effectiveness of our disaster relief assistance and most importantly save lives. Dodd was joined by Senators Lieberman, and Sessions in the Senate and Congresswoman Rosa Delauro in the House of Representatives.
[1] The following groups support this effort:
The Rubin Foundation
Bothman Construction
TPG Architecture
USAID
American Institute if Architects
Kiwanis International
Rotary International
Guayaquil Fire Department Quito Fire Department
Engineers Society of Ecuador
The Catholic University of Guayaquil
The Polytechnical University of Quito
The International Code Council (ICC)
ASTM International
National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST)
Municipal Government of Guayaquil Ecuador
The Guayaquil Civil Defense Organization
Municipal Government Of San Salvador
National Congress of El Salvador
Chamber of Construction in Guayaquil and Quito
To achieve the intent of the CASA act Dodd proposed that the President, Provide funding to train architects and contractors in El Salvador and Ecuador in the proper use of the code (US building codes and standards). By educating builders and providing them the necessary code for their work in their own language it is only a matter of time before we will begin to see safer buildings in the region, and a return on our investment.
In the Fall of 2004, the CASA Corp program was able to place legislative language favouring UN Agencies to fund building code training programs in the post-hurricane affected Caribbean Islands.
In January of 2005, the CASA Corp hosted a congressional delegation to El Salvador to inspect U.S. financed reconstruction efforts.As a result of these inspections, the CASA Corp program continues to influence new legislation that will impact a wider range of U.S. disaster reconstruction efforts including Tsunami relief activities. (Link to Lantos Tsunami and US relief briefing)
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Airline ambassador members with Senator Christopher Dodd |
Airline ambassador Ecuadorian Television Appearance |
Technical Exchange Programs
The CASA Corp Program seeks to reduce a nations vulnerability to natural disasters through risk mitigation, technology transfer and training, improvements in the quality of construction and life safety practices. The CASA Corp Program aids in the translation, development and distribution of construction manuals and building codes in conjunction with local officials.
Airline Ambassador Construction Manuals
Ecuador
Based upon the Untied Nations study Radius 1996, Ecuador was identified as a nation with serious earthquake vulnerability.In response, Airline Ambassadors has taken the initiative to lead in mitigation activities.
Since 2001, the CASA Corp Program has conducted annual code education and training seminars at the request of local municipal and professional entities (footnote). Critical to this process has been the involvement of licensed professional instructors distributing free educational materials including U.S. building codes in both English and Spanish.
In the Fall of 2004, using the prototype manual for safe construction, Airline Ambassador in collaboration with Rotary Club International sponsored a mission in which building and fire inspectors surveyed critical structures in the city of Guayaquil.These inspections indicated a growing trend to the use of foreign building materials and technology.As a result, these materials and practices used in an unregulated environment create severe structural and life safety deficiencies.
National, municipal and professional organizations work with Airline Ambassadors to seek programatic solutions for on-going construction and development issues.
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Airline Ambassadors based their work in Ecuador on A UN funded study. |
Airline Ambassador members inspect fire damage in the Ecuadorian congress building.
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El Salvador
In response to the 2001 Earthquake Airline Ambassadors, under the guidance of political and professional authorities, initiated the CASA Corp training program. This program was conceived under the supervision of relevant licensed U.S. code professional organizations and their local counterparts.
In 2005, after the completion of foreign disaster reconstruction, Airline Ambassadors sponsored a team of building code and construction professionals to survery USAID funded re-construction. The mission was accompanied by U.S Congressional staff members interested in evaluating U.S. funded reconstruction efforts. Inspectors discovered that serious life safety and structural inadequacies were inherent in all cases; concluding that acceptable building codes and standards are not implemented in all stages of U.S. funded reconstruction projects.
Airline Ambassadors maintains an on-going relationship with the relevant members of U.S. Congress interested in improving the quality of U.S. reconstruction efforts.
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US reconstruction housing with US building professionals |
Manual Project
In response to requests from municipal and professional authorities to summarize the most critical elements of U.S. building codes, Airline Ambassadors embarked upon the Manual Project.Ecuadorian and Salvadorian professionals collaborated with U.S. professionals in the development of the first edition of the CASA Corps Manual Project: The Essential Elements of a Building Code.The Manual provides a proven baseline or starting point for communities wishing to incorporate modern construction oversight and technical capacity.
The Manual is a living document which is intended to be revised and updated on a periodic and collaborative basis.The goal of the Manual Project is to establish a minimum construction standard for quality in developing countries, the first step in creating a building code culture.
Each community must develop their own set of unique regulations that address the special conditions and situations of their environment.Earthquakes, fires, wind and floods all occur on planet in a non-discriminating fashion with no nationality or borders.Likewise the information in the Manual and in future editions is relevant to everyone, everywhere in the world.
The Essential Elements of a Building Code 2005 can be reviewed in the appendix.
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The glass wall to the right protects an infant critical care ward, the windows are taped in hope that it will keep them from killing the children in the next quake, unfortunately the take will do very little. A reinforcing project was stopped half way up the building on the right and the building remains just as venerable as it was at the time of the 2001 earthquake. |
This 300 bed childrens hospital in El Salvador is the only one of it kind in the country, yet significant damage goes un checked after the 2001 earthquake. The Airline ambassador team found the building in a form that would have been condemned in the US because it was unsafe, yet it is in continued use. |
RELEVANT ARTICLES AND PRESENTATIONS
Is it Wrong to Ask for Help on Building Codes?, Stephen Forneris, March-April 2001
Is it Wrong to Ask for Help on Building Codes?, Stephen Forneris, March-April 2001
National Congressional Record July 18, 2001
Sending Reinforcement Architecture Feb 2002
The Developing World and Natural Disasters: Who will provide leadership? May 2002
Think Global Act Global Architecture, Jan 2003
ASTM Standardization News, Stephen Forneris, April 2003; pg 22-25
CASA PowerPoint presentation 2004
El Salvador Is a Lesson in How Not to Rebuild, Wall Street Journal, January 2005
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING RESOURCES
IADB Technical Training Funds
ILO Technical Assistance Worker Training Funds
American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC) Technical Assistance Program
USAID Global Technology Network (GTN)
USAID Environmental Technology Network
USAID Urban Environmental Infrastructure Network
USAID Environmental Technology Fund
USAID State Environmental Initiative (SEI) Grant
Overseas Program Fund (OPF)
National Association of State Development Agencies (NASDA) Grant
Environmental Exchange Program (EEP) Technical Exchange Grant
US EPA Global Urban Partnership Program
Clean Technology and Environmental Management (CTEM) Fund
USAID Urban Program Fund
World Bank/UNCHS Cities Alliance Program
US Agency for International Development
US Department of Commerce
LIUNA International Affairs Training Program
Inter American Educational Training Program (IAETP)
Business Alliance for International Economic Development
USAID Disaster Assistance Program
USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)
USAID Rural and Urban Development (RUDO)
USAID Latin American and the Caribbean Urban Network Program
American Federation of Chambers of Construction and Industry
Inter American Housing Union
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