Raymond O’Brocki, CBO, is the manager of fire service relations for the American Wood Council. He was previously the chief building official for the City of Rockville, Maryland. O'Brocki was also the assistant chief (ret.) of the Baltimore (MD) Fire Department until 2013. He was appointed fire marshal for Baltimore in 2008. O’Brocki has also served on the Maryland State Child Care Advisory Council, the Maryland State Fire Code Update Committee, the steering committee for the Mid-Atlantic Life Safety Conference, the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA's) Urban Fire Safety Task Force and is on the NFPA 1 technical committee. He is the administrator of the Construction Fire Safety Coalition, a graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law, and a licensed attorney.
The development process for U.S. building codes is rigorous and deliberative. Because the process results in the best thinking of a large group of experts, building codes can help drive innovation in design and construction