The WAsafe Coalition’s mission is to assist local communities determine which buildings are safe for occupancy following a disaster such as an earthquake, flood, or windstorm. Trained and qualified volunteers, working under the direction of the local building official, perform building safety assessments, helping residents to get back into their homes and businesses resume operations.
Earthquakes, windstorms, and floods pose serious risks to residents and businesses in Washington State. To prepare for and respond to such events, we formed the Washington Safety Assessment Facility Evaluators (WAsafe) Coalition, a group of volunteer engineers, architects, building officials, building inspectors and other trained professionals who can assist local building officials with assessing buildings for safe occupancy following a natural disaster.
Following a large-scale event, such as a major earthquake, WAsafe volunteers will be deployed at the direction of the Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD) to the local agencies who request assistance with building safety assessments. For a smaller event, WAsafe may respond to requests for assistance from a regional or local emergency management agency.
