Blog

December 21, 2023 Earlier this year, firefighters in the North Carolina city of Charlotte battled a blaze at two apartment buildings that were under construction. The May 18th fire, considered one of the biggest in

November 1, 2023 When we launched the Construction Fire Safety Coalition and its outreach and education initiatives five years ago, our engagement started out slowly. This was hardly surprising to our team and Fire Service

Raymond O’Brocki August 24, 2023 In 2019, The American Wood Council and the Construction Fire Safety Coalition brought together a group of fire service experts from across the country to provide the wood products industry

Raymond O’Brocki May 15, 2023 Four weeks after a deliberately set fire caused more than $50 million in damage to a pair of five-story apartment buildings in Bound Brook, New Jersey, city leaders drafted a

Raymond O’Brocki March 13, 2023 This month marks my five-year anniversary with the Construction Fire Safety Coalition, and as is typical upon reaching milestones like this, it’s hard not to look back and assess the

Raymond O’Brocki December 14, 2022 I spent a good portion of 2022 traveling around the country, presenting to code and fire officials, developers and designers on best practices for reducing fire risk, fire testing of

Raymond O’Brocki August 22, 2022 During the National Fire Protection Association’s 2022 conference, I had the opportunity to take part in a panel discussion entitled “Fires in Buildings Under Construction: Closing the Insurance and Fire

Raymond O’Brocki July 12, 2022 There is a fundamental question asked every time a construction project draws closer to completion. Whether it’s a single-family dwelling or multi-story condo complex, the developer will begin wondering when

Raymond O’Brocki June 23, 2022 When I travel around the country and interact with colleagues from the fire service or friends from the code enforcement side, it’s never surprising when the conversation turns to the

Raymond O’Brocki May 20, 2022 As part of Building Safety Month as well as National Electrical Safety Month, it seems appropriate to take a dive into the new national electric codes and the best practices

Raymond O’Brocki October 4, 2021 It’s been 18 months since I had the opportunity to tour the scene of the fire that ravaged the “South Alex” project in Alexandria, Virginia. Despite the passage of time,

Raymond O’Brocki August 24, 2021 It’s often said that “the devil is in the details.” This old idiom is something I’ve come to appreciate during my career in fire safety because paying attention to details

Raymond O’Brocki July 22, 2021 After 20 years of visiting and evaluating fire safety measures at construction sites, I’ve learned to quickly identify projects led by those who take fire prevention seriously and those who

Raymond O’Brocki June 3, 2021 When it comes to Chapter 33 of the IFC, I think we can all agree on a few things. The chapter, which deals specifically with construction fire safety, is thorough

Raymond O’Brocki April 26, 2021 The first week in May is always an important period for those of us working to educate and share best practices for preventing and reducing the number of intentionally set

Raymond O’Brocki March 16, 2021 Why Joseph Cervantes Believes the Time is Now for This New Technology In January, we hosted a webinar on fire safety and prevention, and our esteemed guests provided valuable and

Raymond O’Brocki February 12, 2021 I recently had the opportunity to moderate a webinar roundtable featuring three experts from the world of construction site fire safety. Our 90-minute conversation covered a range of topics, from

January 4, 2021 The 2021 edition of the International Fire Code (IFC) will include some new provisions intended to reduce the number of fires that flare up at construction sites across the country. Generally speaking, the changes

Raymond O’Brocki November 9, 2020 I continue to be amazed at the amount of intentionally set fires that are causing hundreds of millions of dollars of losses at high profile construction sites across the country.

Raymond O’Brocki December 19, 2019 As we conclude 2019 and look forward to 2020, we’re looking back on highlights from the Construction Fire Safety Coalition and the progress we’ve made throughout the year. We’ve shared

Raymond O’Brocki December 2, 2019 Despite the best technology and employee training, your construction site may still be vulnerable to fire hazard without proper security and fire watch. Site security and fire watch is intended

Raymond O’Brocki November 18, 2019 Construction sites often require various equipment and tools to complete a project. Though necessary, these items can also be hazardous without with proper caution, maintenance, and training. Last month’s blog

September 3, 2019 Hot work is one of the leading causes of construction fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, an average of 4,440 structure fires each year result from hot work. Cutting, soldering,

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager July 2, 2019 In January 2019, the governmental voting body of the International Code Council (ICC) approved changes to the International Fire Code (IFC), 2021 edition, that will aid in

CIOReview June 4, 2019 FREMONT, CA – Fire safety incidents are an everyday occurrence, with entire media reports dedicated to the failure to implement sufficient safety measures. The increase in the number of fire safety

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager June 3, 2019 Last month, Ray O’Brocki, Fire Service Relations Manager for the AWC, participated in City of Los Angeles “Fire Safety During Construction” meeting. The purpose of

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager May 22, 2019 In March, we covered the fire vulnerability of buildings under construction and renovation. This month, we recognize that the key to preventing construction fires is

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager May 22, 2019 Regardless of materials and construction type, each building comes with potential fire hazards – hot work, electronic devices, and more, contribute to greater fire risk

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager May 20, 2019 AWC’s Ray O’Brocki presented two training sessions to building and fire inspectors at the Maine Building Officials & Inspectors Association 10th Annual Maine Code Conference.

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager Apr 26, 2019 NFPA reports that the U.S. fire service responds to an average of 8,440 fires on structures under construction, undergoing major renovation, or under demolition each

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager Apr 1, 2019 The International Code Council (ICC) has published the final results of the code change proposals considered in 2018, including passage of the entire package of 14

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager Mar 19, 2019 More than 100 fire protection engineers and code officials in two states obtained fire safety during construction training in the second week of March from

U.S. Fire Administration Mar 19, 2019 Buildings under construction or renovation are at their most vulnerable and weakest condition. Accumulation of waste combustibles, limited access, minimal water supply and hazardous operations increase the challenge. Add

Ray O’Brocki, CFSC Fire Service Relations Manager Feb 14, 2019 2018 marked significant progress for the Construction Fire Safety Coalition, all to ensure our stakeholders have the right information to do their jobs, and to