Urgently Needed Course Trains Home Inspectors to Help Homeowners Reduce Basement Flood Risk
Peterborough ON (September 12, 2018) — A ground breaking course offered this fall at Seneca’s Newnham Campus in Toronto provides practical training to home inspectors and other industry specialists to help homeowners address the growing threat of basement flooding. The course has been developed as a collaborative effort between Fleming College, Seneca and the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (Intact Centre) at the University of Waterloo. Additional support is being provided by Toronto Hydro and Intact Financial Corporation.
With the recent flooding across Canada, the course could not be more needed. The average cost of a flooded basement is $43,000 to repair damage, and the vast majority of these damages can be prevented by helping homeowners identify their home’s unique risks and identifying cost effective opportunities to reduce risks including simple seasonal maintenance activities.
While open to anyone, the course has been built to complement the existing training of home inspectors, municipal engineers, emergency managers, landscape designers, home construction and renovation professionals. Insurance adjusters will also benefit from this training so they can provide improved customer service to their clientele. The course provides participants with the fundamental training required to complete a visual assessment of overland, infiltration and sewer backup flood risks, communicate opportunities to reduce these risks and identify where further investigation is required.
Course participants will complete a sample home flood risk assessment on a single detached, semi-detached or townhome of their choice using a nationally recognized electronic flood risk assessment tool developed by the Intact Centre at the University of Waterloo. Since 2017 this tool has been used to assess flood risks and identify opportunities to reduce these risks at hundreds of homes across the country. Successful graduates will have access to the tool after they complete the course.
“Flooding across Canada is getting worse, and we need new tools and training to prepare for the storms yet to come. This course will offer substantial benefit to home inspectors, construction professionals and insurance brokers who currently receive very limited training in the area of flood risk assessment. This course will give participants a competitive edge in their ability to identify, and communicate, flood risk to their clients” – Dr. Blair Feltmate, Head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo.
The Home Flood Risk Assessment Training (HFRAT) Course is offered Thursday evenings from 7 pm – 10 pm at Seneca’s Newnham Campus in Toronto from September 20 to December 20. The cost is $326.00 and includes a one year subscription to the Home Flood Risk Assessment Tool. The course will be available online nationally starting in January 2019.
For more information and to register, please visit: www.FlemingCollege.ca/HFRAT.
About Fleming College
Located in the heart of Central Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, the college features more than 100 full-time programs in Arts and Heritage, Business, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, General Arts and Sciences, Health and Wellness, Justice and Community Development, Skilled Trades and Technology, and Continuing Education. Fleming College has more than 5,900 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and 71,000 alumni.
About Seneca
Combining career and professional skills training with theoretical knowledge, Seneca’s expert faculty provide a polytechnic education to 30,000 full-time and 60,000 part-time students. With campuses in Toronto, York Region and Peterborough and education partners around the world, Seneca offers degrees, graduate certificates, diplomas and certificates in more than 300 full-time, part-time and online programs. Seneca’s credentials are renowned for their quality and respected by employers. Co-op and work placements, applied research projects, entrepreneurial opportunities and the latest technology ensure that Seneca graduates are highly skilled and ready to work.
Find out more at senecacollege.ca.
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About the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo is one of Canada’s top innovation universities. With more than 36,000 students and the world’s largest co-operative education system of its kind, its unmatched entrepreneurial culture, combined with an intensive focus on research, powers one of the top innovation hubs in the world. For more information, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Sara O’Halloran
Communications Officer
sara.ohalloran@flemingcollege.ca
705.749.5530 x 1366
Lisa Pires
Media Relations Specialist
Seneca College
416-805-5443
Matthew Grant
University of Waterloo
519-888-4451
Blair Feltmate
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
226-339-3506