The building code community was saddened to hear of the loss of Bob Palchanis, a long-time Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI)/International Code Council (ICC) Member and former Board President of the Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF). He passed away peacefully at home on June 3 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, after a brief illness. He was 79.

Palchanis retired in 1995 as Director of Palm Beach County's Building Department where he served nearly 20 years. "There were a number of building officials before Bob, but he was the longest-serving building official ever in Palm Beach County," said Kurt Eismann, Director of Contractor Certification and Code Enforcement for Palm Beach County, and a past president of the Building Officials Association of Palm Beach County (BOAPBC).

"Bob was a terrific man and a code visionary," said Bob Boyer, Code Products and Training Coordinator for Palm Beach County, and a past president of both BOAF and BOAPBC. "He had the unique ability to foster in his staff skills and knowledge in building codes development and application."

Palchanis grew up in Massachusetts, where he learned his trade as a builder before relocating to Palm Beach County in the late 1960s.

"Bob was a mentor to me and many others," said Code Council Chief Operating Officer Dominic Sims. "Bob knew the needs of the industry and gave young inspectors and plans examiners opportunities to learn and grow. He was adamant about 'professionalism' and participation in local and state Chapter activities. He also knew the value of model codes and how the I-Codes help reduce the patchwork of codes throughout the U.S. and raise the profile of code officials along with it."

"When he moved down here, he founded his own successful construction company that built moderate to better than moderately priced homes," added Eismann. "Unfortunately, he had an on-the-job accident that caused serious ankle and leg injuries."

While in physical rehabilitation and no longer able to work as a contractor, Palchanis put his practical construction experience to work when he joined the Palm Beach County Building Division in the early 1970s as a plans examiner. In 1976, he was named Building Division Director and Building Official of the department, then consisting of little more than 20 employees.

Boyer said Palchanis was very active at that time with the SBCCI, working his way up through chairs of the local building officials associations and then the state organization. He eventually became a member of the SBCCI Board of Directors and president of BOAF.

In 1981, Palchanis was appointed by Florida Governor Bob Graham to a Blue Ribbon committee set up to recommend changes in the law due to the collapse of the Harbour Cay Condominium in Cocoa Beach, a five-story, flat-plate reinforced concrete residential building. While under construction, the fifth-floor slab fell onto the floors below causing the progressive collapse of the entire structure, killing 11 workers and injuring 23.

Palchanis and the other commission members investigated the incident and concluded that errors in both design and construction led to the tragic failure. Because of their recommendations, the State of Florida strengthened its safety laws with the passage of Chapter 553 F.S. (553.79) known as the Threshold Building Act. It required more on-site inspections by engineers and more scrutiny of construction plans. The failure also raised awareness that punching shear failures are the most common type of failure of concrete flat slabs, and that accounting for punching shear during the design phase is critical.

"Bob also led historic enhancements to our local building code following Hurricane Andrew," Boyer noted. Andrew, a Category 5, struck Florida in August 1992, causing 26 direct and 39 indirect fatalities, and an estimated $26.5 billion in damages in Homestead alone.

"After Andrew, Bob led an effort with our advisory board to study things we could do to strengthen our codes, like renailing roof sheathing onto decks, additional bracing on trusses, extra strapping and member fasteners," said Boyer. "He was very active in getting Palm Beach County to become one of the first counties in the state to require hurricane shutters for wind-borne debris standards. He also pushed for the approval of a simple method to mount plywood shutters so the average citizen could afford to retrofit their homes and not spend a fortune."

Eismann said that in the late, '80s, Palchanis worked through their local building code advisory board and the county to help create the Palm Beach County 1 and 2 Family Dwelling Code so the average homeowner could design and build a home without having a designer involved. Palchanis co-authored this code in 1989 with Charles O' Melia, creating a minimum prescriptive design standard code based on years of wind design studies performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Bob also oversaw the first computerization of our department in the early '80s," said Eismann. "We had a big mainframe back then, and he supervised the making of our own computer program. He was very proactive, keeping up with new technologies." Eismann added that Palchanis' headed the department during a great growth period.

"When I started here, there were seven or eight inspectors and three plans examiners, and a total of just over 20 in the department," he said. "When Bob left the department, we were about 150 strong, and approximately three-quarters of them were inspectors and plans examiners."

Boyer said Palchanis left a solid legacy in Florida and throughout the building code community.

"He was a real gentleman, a good guy to work with and he always supported his staff," Boyer said, "but he wasn't a push-over, either. His contribution to Palm Beach County is a much better and safer building environment out there. He will be missed."