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It's here! Enter ICC's CodeHeroes contest!

The Code Council needs your help. In less than 15 years, 80 percent of current code officials will retire. Recognizing the need to encourage and mentor the next generation of code officials, the Code Council is hosting a Promoting the Value of the Code Official photo contest. To enter, post your best code official photo on the Code Council's Facebook or Twitter channels, or by our online form. Make sure to use the hashtag #CodeHeroes.

Get creative! Show you're a true community hero and post your best "safetie" (safety selfie) while on the job. Share a short story about the first home or building you inspected — what advice would you give to code officials that are newer to the profession? Share a photo of you mentoring a younger code official.

Take your building & fire code knowledge to the next level.

Seasoned ICC instructors will keep you engaged from start to finish with the most up-to-date information, tactics and best practices at ICC's Training & Certification Summit. Register now and join other building and fire safety professionals for the Principles of Building Safety Institute.

Order your 2017 Building Safety Month posters.

The Code Council's Building Safety Month campaign reinforces the need for adoption of modern, model building codes, a strong and efficient system of code enforcement, and a well-trained, professional workforce to maintain the system. Building Safety Month posters are now available to help you spread the message this May.

In Memoriam: Code Council mourns the passing of Robert Basol (Trey) Hughes III.

As this issue goes to press, we are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Trey Hughes, Periodicals/Advertising Sales Manager for the Building Safety Journal Online and ICC eNews, and interim Director of ICC's Communications Department. A loyal member of our ICC family for more than 15 years, Hughes passed away on Good Friday. We mourn his loss and extend our deepest condolences to his family. He was a credit to our organization and will be sorely missed.

Significant changes to the 2015 IFC.

An addition to Section 903.2.1.6 (Assembly Occupancies on Roofs) of the 2015 International Fire Code (IFC) states that fire sprinklers are now required on all floors between the occupied roof and the level of exit discharge when assembly uses occur on the rooftop of buildings and the occupant load exceeds 100 for Group A-2 or 300 for other Group A occupancies.

ICC reaches reinstatement program milestone.

As March came to a close, the International Code Council's Reinstatement Program reached 750 certifications reinstated, reflecting nearly 250 individuals who have taken advantage of the program. The Reinstatement Program offers individuals with certifications expired more than six years an opportunity to reinstate their certifications without the need to re-test.

Your chance to ensure quality training for Members, customers & certification holders.

The Code Council's Professional Development Council is seeking applicants for the Education and Certification Committees to ensure quality training to meet the needs of all Members, customers and certification holders. Each committee has two positions available for three-year terms. Applications are due June 1.

Maximize your profile as a building safety professional with ICC logo products.

Whether you're a code professional, designer, volunteer or proud supporter of ICC, show it off this spring with official ICC logo products. Choose from our most-popular, high-quality logo wear, including the ICC hoody, pullover, umbrella and more. When you buy ICC products, you are not only supporting our building safety mission, but helping to spread the ICC message of building safety across the country and around the world. The last day to get in on this limited-time offer is May 14. All orders will ship mid-June.

ICC-ES alternative criteria development process items posted for public comment.

ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) is now accepting public comments until May 3 for various acceptance criteria being considered, including AC16 (Plastic Glazed Skylights), AC174 (Deck Board Span Ratings and Guardrail Systems), AC193 (Mechanical Anchors in Concrete Elements), AC306 (Pin-connected Open-web Trusses with Wood Chords and Tubular or Angular Steel Webs), and AC455 (Cross-laminated Timber Panels for Use as Components in Floor and Roof Decks).

Building Safety & Design Expo: Reserve your space today.

Be a part of the Building Safety & Design Expo that will be held Sept. 10-11 in Columbus, Ohio — the ideal venue for manufacturers and associations to educate code officials and other building safety professionals about the latest innovative technologies that are helping to build safer and more resilient communities.

Get ICC certified at the New Jersey Building Safety Conference.

Are you ready for the next step in your career? Two ICC Certification Test Academies will be held during the New Jersey Building Safety Conference May 3-5 in Atlantic City, N.J., that are specifically designed to help special inspectors prepare to take their certification exam. The exam is optional.

Larry Bell remembered for his service and dedication to Starkville.

Remembered as a pillar of the Starkville community, Larry Wayne Bell, 78, passed away peacefully on March 3, surrounded by family. Bell served as the city of Starkville's building director and civil defense director for more than 32 years, co-founded and served as secretary of the Building Officials Association of Mississippi, worked as a delegate to the World Conference of Building Officials, and served on the board of Southern Building Codes Congress International for 14 years and as its president for two years. His dedication and unselfish service to so many people throughout his life leaves a legacy that many can admire, but few will ever replicate.

Interesting global construction trivia.

In what is one of the most amusing cases in the history of construction, in 1919 a contractor named J.D. McMahon managed to raise $200,000 for the Newby-McMahon Building, commonly referred to as the world's littlest skyscraper at 40 feet tall. Legend has it he never verbally stated what the planned height for the building was. The blueprints he shared with investors were marked as 480" (inches, not feet). Investors and prospective tenants never caught on, and assumed they were getting a towering, state-of-the-art, 480-foot skyscraper.

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