Brian Orr Becomes ICC 500 Committee Member

Brian Orr, PE, SE, and Vice President at Toth and Associates, Inc. (TOTH), has been added as a voting committee member for the ICC 500 ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters.

The International Code Council (ICC) is a global resource of model codes, standards, and building safety solutions. The ICC covers product evaluation, accreditation, technology, training, and certification to ensure safe, affordable, and sustainable buildings for communities across the world. The ICC was established in 1994, bringing together three organizations across the United States: Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., the International Conference of Building Officials, and Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc.

Committee membership with the ICC includes a range of potential placements, from the development of international codes to government relations and oversight management. Brian’s expertise and experience allowed him inclusion on the Consensus Committee on Storm Shelters (IS-STM). This committee meets periodically to review public comments and maintain the ICC 500 Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters.

Brian has been the Structural Engineer of Record on countless buildings and bridges throughout his career. He has worked with buildings, bridges, structural reviews, failure investigations, and specification writing with projects including multi-story office buildings, bridges, and FEMA safe rooms. He has 29 years of experience, more than 25 years designing tornado safe rooms, and has worked on over 500 structures.

Brian is also a FEMA Committee member for publications (FEMA P-320, P-361, P-431) regarding the design and operation of Tornado Safe Rooms, and the designer of safe rooms found in FEMA’s P-320 documentation. He has helped to secure over $350,000,000 in FEMA grants for the construction of FEMA tornado safe rooms in the State of Missouri and is involved in all aspects of safe rooms, from funding and design to operation and maintenance. He is often a guest speaker at Architectural and Engineering conferences, providing insight on how to efficiently integrate Tornado Safe Rooms into K-12 school projects.

“I’m proud to be made a member of the ICC 500 committee,” says Orr. “It’s rewarding being able to bring what I’ve learned over more than 25 years designing tornado safe rooms to something this important to people’s safety.”