July 11, 2005 - Learn About Hurricane Preparedness at the St. Lucie County Hurricane House
University of FloridaSt. Lucie County Extension
8400 Picos Road, Ste 101
Fort Pierce, FL 34945
Contact: Karla Lenfesty, (772) 462-1660
Ken Gioeli, (772) 462-1660
Released: July 11, 2005
LEARN ABOUT HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS AT THE ST LUCIE COUNTY HURRICANE HOUSE
The 2005 Hurricane Season is off to a quick start with the advent of Hurricane Dennis's landfall in the Pensacola Beach area.
The University of Florida / St Lucie County Cooperative Extension stands ready to educate citizens about hurricane resistant construction through programs offered at the County's Hurricane House. The 3,000-square-foot house next to the St Lucie County extension office in Ft Pierce - officially known as the Windstorm Damage Mitigation, Training and Demonstration Center - shows residents how existing homes can be made more hurricane-resistant. Materials, products and construction methods, which meet or exceed new state building codes, can be used in new homes or to retrofit existing structures.
The St Lucie County Hurricane House in western Ft Pierce is one of three facilities located at UF/IFAS Extension Service offices around the state. Other hurricane houses are in Pensacola and St. Augustine, and a fourth house will be completed in August 2005 at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. The Florida Department of Financial Services provided $2.3 million for the houses, and UF's Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing in the College of Design, Construction and Planning supervised their design and construction.
Homeowners and builders can visit the hurricane house to see three types of window shutters and other features, such as impact-resistant doors, a steel "safe room" and a garage door that will withstand winds of more than 150 mph. Visitors also can see exposed sections of interior walls that show alternative construction methods, such as insulated concrete forms, to build stronger and more energy-efficient homes. The insulated concrete form uses reinforcement bars and concrete sandwiched between plastic foam sheets.
In the wake of four devastating hurricanes in 2004 and another active hurricane season this year, the Hurricane House is becoming a magnet for educating builders and residents about wind-loss mitigation, energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive construction.
For additional information, contact Karla at (772) 462-1660. A map to our facility is available online at http://stlucie.ifas.ufl.edu/Maps/maps.htm
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The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Employment Opportunity - Affirmative Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, disability or national origin. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating