AIA-NJ Disaster Assistance Training Seminar

AIA New Jersey Homeland Security Committee will be hosting a workshop to introduce participants to the AIA Disaster Assistance Program. Utilizing the California Emergency Management Agency Post-Disaster Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Training, this course will provide tools and procedures to assist communities in disaster preparedness and response highlighting the importance of efficient disaster resources for a sustainable and efficient recovery of the areas affected by disaster.

Attendees who take part in this training seminar will become active members of the AIANJ Homeland Security Committee and will be on call to volunteer their services in the event of disaster.   Further training may be required by the NJ State Police for possible deployment to assist the Damage Assessment Teams.

Intended for licensed architects, engineers, or building code officials, this course certifies attendees as Building Evaluators in the California Safety Assessment Program (SAP). The program is managed by Cal EMA with cooperation from professional organizations, including the AIA. It utilizes volunteers and mutual aid resources to provide professional engineers and architects and certified building inspectors to assist local governments in safety evaluation of their built environment in an aftermath of a disaster. SAP the preferred training standard of the AIA Disaster Assistance Program, which provides leadership, advocacy, and training to architects who are interested in volunteering their professional skills in times of crisis. This workshop will teach participants to conduct rapid damage assessments of structures affected by earthquakes, wind, and water. It also teaches the appropriate protocol for coordinating with emergency managers to limit professional liability. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to consistently and safely assess structures for habitability and will receive a Building Evaluator license from the state of California.

Speaker: Michael D. Lingerfelt, FAIA

Michael is a high-energy AIA Florida based executive with more than 30 years experience in design and project delivery. He has served on the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Disaster Assistance Task Force (2007 – Present), represented the AIA at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute’s Strategic Plan 2009 – 2014 Focus Group, participated in the Haiti Rebuilding Summits (2010 & 2011) and has been a California Emergency Management Agency Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Trainer since 2008. To date, he has trained over 976 architects, engineers, building officials and inspectors in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi Tennessee, Texas and the US Virgin Islands. He has provided safety assessment evaluations for Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA (2004), Northridge, CA Earthquake (1994), Birmingham, AL (2011), as well as fire and flood assessments in California.