Rock Hill Housing Tours Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)
Richburg, SC - On February 22, 2023, Rock Hill Housing's Maintenance and Inspection team toured the IBHS Research Center in Richburg, South Carolina. The IBHS Research Center provided the Authority's team with an informative tour of the facility and discussion on how the facility's main test chamber can replicate realistic weather conditions including Category 1, 2, and 3 hurricanes (with winds up to 130 mph), extra tropical windstorms, wind-driven rain conditions, and straight-line windstorms. IBHS's main chamber is a specially designed wind tunnel that is exceptionally large - 6 stories tall and 145 feet wide by 145 feet long. The size of the structure is equivalent to more than 21,000 square feet under the roof, the equivalent of 4 and 1/2 basketball courts. Rock Hill's team quickly discovered that the IBHS lab is the only lab in the world that can test full-scale one - and two-story residential and commercial buildings in a controlled, repeatable fashion for highly realistic windstorms, wind-driven rain, hailstorms and wildfire ember storms.
The Rock Hill team also toured IBHS's small laboratory which evaluates individual components of construction materials through highly controlled experiments. Researchers at the facility create and store artificial hailstones - created to resemble the size and density of real hailstones that the facility collects from real storms - and then fires them at roof shingles using a hail firing canon. The facility also has a roof aging farm. This aging farm enables researchers to conduct long term testing and analysis of the roofs at specified time intervals (e.g. 5, 10, 15, and 20 Years) for wind, hail, and wildfire performance.
The Rock Hill team was presented with a presentation on IBHS's FORTIFIED Program. The FORTIFIED program is a voluntary, beyond code, resilient construction program, with a designation designed to fill a void in climate resilience for the U.S. Housing market. The new FORTIFIED Multifamily standard lays the path for multifamily developers like the Rock Hill Housing Authority, owners and property managers to offer residents homes built or retrofitted to perform better in severe weather, including powerful high winds and heavy rain from thunderstorms, derechos, hurricanes and even tornadoes. Edward Stuver, Maintenance Mechanic was quoted as saying, "this was really good information and provided really good insight on how construction materials are tested." Mark Caldwell, UPCS/HQS Inspector was quoted as saying, "this facility is doing some amazing work. I have passed the facility often and had no idea what this facility did." Tyrone Joseph, Crew Worker III was quoted as saying, "the facility is doing fine work and the tour was very informative." Lynn Hammond, Maintenance Supervisor, was quoted as saying, "the idea of taping down a roof would help prevent damage was unthinkable until I saw the effects that the facility was able to demonstrate. This is good stuff!" Dewayne Alford, CEO of Rock Hill Housing was quoted as saying, "this facility is doing a tremendous job of informing the insurance industry, developers, owners, and property managers on steps that can be taken to reduce and prevent losses and to prepare newly constructed homes and multifamily properties for severe weather events and climate resilience."
Since 1965, Rock Hill Housing has provided housing assistance for families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities in the cities of Rock Hill and Great Falls. Rock Hill Housing has 369 public housing units and manages 608 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), previously Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, for area landlords. The mission of Rock Hill Housing is to provide safe, clean, affordable housing and effective social services to low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Rock Hill Housing team of dedicated employees and Commissioners in partnership with their residents, utilize accepted business principles and all available resources to improve the quality of life for all participants. They encourage employment, self-sufficiency, and, where possible, assist in the transition to other housing alternatives.
For more information on Rock Hill Housing please visit their website, www.rhha.org.
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is an independent, nonprofit, scientific research and communications organization supported solely by property insurers and reinsurers. IBHS' building safety research leads to real-world solutions for home and business owners, creating more resilient communities. The IBHS mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote the most effective ways to strengthen homes, businesses, and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss.