Showing off the National Flood Barrier Testing and Certification Program

Making sure
communities have the products and knowledge to ensure their resiliency is a
priority for ASFPM and our partners. We were honored to be invited to the U.S.
Capitol Sept. 25 to participate in an interactive technology demonstration and
conversation hosted by the Congressional
Smart Cities Caucus and Department of Homeland Security.

Our booth featured
the National Flood Barrier Testing and
Certification Program, a collaboration between ASFPM, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and FM Approvals. We implemented this program to test and certify
flood barrier products used for flood proofing. We also wanted to make sure the
products (temporary barriers, closure devices, backwater valves and mitigation
pumps) met the stringent approval standards of ANSI
2510.

ASFPM Executive
Director Chad Berginnis and Deputy
Director Ingrid Wadsworth staffed
the booth and fielded questions from congressional staff (and not surprisingly,
a large contingent was from Texas, Florida and New York). They were especially
interested that these products are certified to work as advertised. Temporary
barriers and window and door barriers are financially significant investments,
whether a city is purchasing them to protect the community, or homeowners are
buying to protect their houses. That’s why this testing and certification
program is so important, and why it’s generating so much interest. All of the
products listed on the NFBTC webpage have earned the FM Approved “diamond
standard” label.

The Science
and Technology Directorate, a component within the DHS, serves as the research
and development arm. S&T specifically invited ASFPM to highlight how well a
cross-sector collaboration can help address resiliency issues at the community
level, all the way down to a neighborhood level.
We also made an appearance Oct. 22 at the IAEM national conference

ASFPM set up a booth Oct. 22 at the International Association of Emergency Managers conference, educating folks about the National Flood Barrier Testing & Certification Program. Some of you might remember Drew Whitehair, the guy giving a thumbs up. He’s back with ASFPM and ready to talk about NFBTC: https://nationalfloodbarrier.org/

ASFPM developed the fact sheet, “Options
for Protecting Homes & Businesses from Floods,” which we invite you to
share with your citizens via your websites and social media pages. Want to
learn more about NFBTC products? Click
here.

Photo top from left to right: Ingrid Wadsworth, Chad
Berginnis and Dr. David Alexander, S&T’s Flood APEX Program Director.