James Glover II / Star staff 4/23/8 SIMI VALLEY- City of Simi Valley Supervising Building Inspector Steve Berry takes a look at the plans for a house in the Big Sky development in Simi Valley on April 23, 2008. A number of cities in Ventura County have designated May 5-11 to be Building Safety Week.

Building codes and permits might seem like construction industry lingo, but next week has been set aside to show average people how their own safety and well-being can depend on the safety of the buildings in their communities.

City and county governments have proclaimed Monday to May 11 as Building Safety Week, an effort led by an international building-safety organization, with the theme "Building Safety: Where You Live, Work and Play."

Building officials want to use the week to remind people about everything from applying for a permit before starting work on their homes, to being prepared to sustain themselves and their families for 72 hours after an emergency.

"So often the Building Department is seen as just another level of bureaucracy that has to be gone through in order to improve your own property," said Renee Meriaux, deputy building official for Camarillo. "We ensure to the best of our ability that every building you walk into is safe."

As part of the week's observance, activities planned across the county include visiting schools to talk to children about building safety and handing out information at city offices and events.

Amal Sinha, Simi Valley building official, said permits are important for projects as small as adding decks or fences above a certain size, to as large as building master planned communities.

"If you build something, just inquire about it. Just give a call and see, How can I safely build it?'" he said. "That way the structure that will be built will be safer, enjoyable, and it will last much longer."

The decision to get a permit and have the work inspected to make sure it meets building codes is as important to the community as to the individual property owner, Sinha said.

Without proper approvals, owners could leave themselves vulnerable to lawsuits if someone was injured on unsafe construction. They also could face fines or have to complete costly repairs on structures that didn't meet building codes.

The effects on the community could be even larger, Sinha said. Building codes are intended to minimize the risk of fires, building collapses and the spread of disease because of sewer damage during a natural disaster.

"In this part of the country, earthquake is more of a natural hazard that we all know about and are scared of the potential for the big ones," he said. "Being in earthquake country, knowing a building is built as per code provides safety at the moment when it is most needed."

Sinha and Meriaux are members of the International Code Council, an association dedicated to building safety.