Building Safety Month Is Almost Over, but Protecting Residents, Assets Never Ends

May 29, 2025

Executive Insights National Operations & Technology

Creating a culture of safety should be a priority, AKAM's Christopher Alker tells MHN.

Building Safety Month has come to a close. This year, it arrived against a backdrop of intensifying weather events, aging infrastructure and growing pressure on urban living environments. So what was once a routine calendar observance has become a daily concern, particularly for those operating residential buildings in coastal and high-density areas.

“Every month is building safety month in property management,” AKAM Senior Vice President of Building Operations Christopher Alker told Multi-Housing News.

After four decades of onsite property management experience throughout Florida and New York, AKAM has gathered valuable insights on what it takes for multifamily properties and their residents to be prepared for and protected against any unfortunate event.

Building safety is no longer just about keeping up with inspections. It’s about maintaining structural integrity and preparing for emergencies that are becoming less rare and more severe. But safety isn’t just a technical effort. Clear, consistent outreach to residents is equally important as it builds trust before a crisis hits. Although safety challenges differ by region, a core lesson applies everywhere: Safety isn’t static. It’s an ongoing process of adaptation, preparation and vigilance to protect both residents and properties at all times, believes Alker.

READ ALSO: Designing Communities for Disaster

Why should building safety be a year-round concern for property managers, particularly for those active in coastal areas?

Alker: Each year, the conditions which buildings face are changing. Physics never stops and water is a colossal force in the expedited deterioration of buildings. And when that water is filled with salt and delivered by forceful winds, the effects are compounded. Sea levels are rising and climate change has increased the size and frequency of damaging storm systems. Building in ways which take these changes into account are key to ensuring our building stock is safe and lasts for future generations.

What would you say are the top building safety concerns that property managers should prioritize today?

Alker: Maintaining clear fire egress, proper drainage, compartmentalizing fire and smoke, and ensuring structural integrity with proactive repairs, maintenance and monitoring.

How do you approach resident communication to enhance building safety and foster trust?

Alker: It’s very important that the building staff be prepared for a wide array of emergency situations, the boards and HOAs support this preparation and the residents know who to contact and how they should respond when emergencies arise. Using technology and staff—for those residents not inclined to technology—to reach all residents in an efficient and effective manner is critical.

Clear signage and safety plan information should be posted in common areas, discussed at town hall meetings and as a part of new resident move-ins in order to create a culture of safety in the building. Being on a first-name basis with your local fire and police precinct can’t hurt and fosters community.

Can you share an example of how effective communication helped prevent or mitigate a safety incident?

Alker: Having a dedicated after-hours call center who keeps the information of a building on file with protocols for contacting—by phone, email, sms—a series of responders in a particular order to reduce response times and coordinate with first responders has been a key part of damage mitigation and ensuring life safety in many AKAM-managed properties that have been faced with fires, floods and sewage backups.

How do you stay ahead of maintenance and infrastructure issues before they become emergencies?

Alker: One of the biggest challenges to buildings is deferred maintenance. When the building superstructure and systems plants are not maintained, deterioration is exponential and costs rise quickly. We use both analog and cloud-based digital platforms to create a history and inventory of building finishes, fixtures and equipment. This is juxtaposed against an industry standard for the average useful life of each item so we can determine the remaining useful life and repair/replacement costs. With this information in hand, we can earmark funds for the future and/or create a strategic plan to raise these funds so that they are there when needed.

What does a robust emergency preparedness plan look like at AKAM-managed properties?

Alker: Having a guide outlining the most common emergency situations with response protocols that are familiar to staff is a gold standard. We recommend that signage be clear, an emergency cabinet stocked with useful supplies be installed, all plumbing—water and gas—shut off, valves be labeled, a valve map be posted in multiple locations, fire extinguishers be inspected and charged annually, smoke/gas/carbon monoxide detectors be installed where required with annually refreshed backup batteries, and a list of vendors most familiar with the building be kept on file and readily available. It’s all about saving time and remaining calm.

Speaking of remaining calm in emergency situations. Extreme weather is more frequent nowadays across the country. How do you prepare people and buildings for hurricanes, floods or wildfires?

Alker: We regularly track weather systems and stay in contact with our facility managers to ensure they have time to order supplies and batten down the hatches, so to speak. Having a building-wide evacuation and response plan is also important so that this is not worked out on the fly when tensions are high. Regular training webinars with staff on best practices is a standard that keeps things top of mind. We also keep our eye on new innovations in the world of floodproofing and fire prevention in the event they make sense for a property in a particular context.

How do you tailor your strategies to address the different safety challenges across the properties you manage in New York City versus Florida, for example?

Alker: While New York City has faced a few serious storm events over the two decades that have led to major flooding and power outages, New York City has a history of increasingly rigorous building codes and compliance inspections that keep buildings in good repair. Seasonal preparedness is more focused on fire safety, heavy rains and sidewalk safety from slip and falls.

Meanwhile, heavy wind and flooding in the coastal regions of Florida has led to serious damage over the years as weather has become more extreme. And the more relaxed codes in conjunction with an aging building stock has led us to scrutinize the conditions of these properties with our vendor partners more frequently than required.

How can one prepare today for the future demands of urban living?

Alker: The most sustainable building is an existing one. So, we do what we can to maintain asset value and extend its life within reason. We are not developers of the properties we manage, but we are regularly evaluating new systems and technologies that we can use to improve the monitoring of existing building systems and their energy usage to both save money and be better stewards to our planet.

Based on our years of experience, anytime we can provide our insight into how buildings will be used/operated/upgraded over time, to those builders responsible for shaping our cities, we are contributing to a better future.