California Fire Prevention Institute Receives 2025 Educator of the Year Award

The Educator of the Year Award created in honor of Brent Snyder, a renowned International Code Council (ICC) educator and Past Presiding Officer, recognizes excellence in promoting professional development. 

With more than 35 years of educating both industry veterans and newcomers alike, the California Fire Prevention Institute (CFPI) lives up to Snyder’s legacy in every regard. The institute has propelled the fire prevention community and improved building safety from its inception in the 1990s. 

“CFPI was founded with the goal of providing high-quality education in the fire prevention world,” said Robert Marshall, President of CFPI. “All of the leadership are either current or retired members of the fire service industry or are fire service adjacent, working in the fire prevention world.” 

“When we applied, we knew typically it goes to an individual,” said Marshall. “It was especially nice to have this award come from ICC just because of the amount of work we put into making sure that people really understand the base code, which is all provided by ICC. We also became an ICC Preferred Provider. To be recognized by them for the work that we’re doing, to try and help people become better at their craft and better understand the codes that we use, was really important to us.” 

Powerful Education for Fire Prevention Officers 

Their expertise has allowed CFPI to flourish and become one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind, not just in California but around the country. Dozens of people travel to California every year to learn at CFPI, with several of them coming for educational programs they won’t find in many other states, particularly the Community Risk Educator Curriculum. 

Out-of-state students are also attracted to the experts who come and teach at CFPI every year, and some of those experts attend courses as students when they aren’t lecturing. The 2026 CFPI Annual Conference is scheduled to take place March 2–6 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Registration is now open. 

“We’re there for a whole week, with courses that range from the certification classes, which are usually a three or four-day certification, all the way down to one and two-hour offerings,” said Marshall. 

CFPI was created in 1991 as part of the California Fire Chiefs Association, which had an annual training conference for officers and fire suppression professionals but lacked a curriculum for fire prevention. As CFPI grew and became able to educate a larger number of prevention officers (now more than 500 annually), the institute changed locations to accommodate more students. By moving to the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, CFPI has been able to fulfill its goal to serve more people in fire prevention while continuing to expand. 

“Every year we try to make sure we are offering things for every level,” said Marshall. “We have educational offerings that help with the very new folks as well as folks who have been promoted and are now the leadership of our industry, and everyone in between.” 

The institute’s growth has been largely attributed to the commitment and dedication of two ICC Chapters: the Northern and Southern Fire Prevention Officers Association Chapters. From day one, CFPI has strived to create an educational experience that met the needs of inspectors, plans examiners and fire marshals. 

With multiple tracks running simultaneously, Marshall is proud of CFPI’s wide-ranging curriculum. He is also proud of the institute’s efforts to integrate with all of its industry partners.  

“We all realized very early on that one of the more valuable aspects of CFPI was the networking opportunities that were presented there,” he said. “We try to connect our industry partners together. That way, when they have a new product or if they run into a particular issue, they have folks that they know – that they’ve met through CFPI – that they can call and get whatever help is needed.” 

Courses That Meet Everyone’s Needs 

Marshall said that CFPI works hard to offer courses that cover any number of topics people may want to learn more about. The 2026 Annual Conference is no exception and features everything from energy storage and hazardous materials to flammable finishes and collaborative vegetation management/wildfire mitigation. 

Hot topics are especially important to CFPI. This year’s event, for example, features a course entitled, “Addressing compliance challenges with data centers,” that will discuss how their growth impacts the current electrical infrastructure. The course will also examine safety and compliance challenges in energy, fire safety, security and other domains. 

“We also have a lot of things for existing topics,” said Marshall. “If somebody wants to learn how to conduct a plan review of fire sprinkler systems, we’ve got those offerings. If they want to learn more about ways to protect their community from wildfires, which obviously is a big topic in California, we’ve got those offerings as well.” 

CFPI also offers introductory courses for newcomers who are hoping to get an overview of various aspects of fire prevention. The institute partners with organizations that can bring in high school and/or college students as they explore their career opportunities. This is critical for two reasons: first, it allows future generations to gain a better understanding of what it means to work in fire prevention, and second, it informs people about a profession that remains under the radar for many individuals. 

“If we can help promote [the industry], that is something we’re very much interested in,” said Marshall. 

In addition to the 2026 Annual Conference, CFPI is preparing for its 2026 Fall Certification Week (September 28–October 2) at the SFM Natomas Campus in Sacramento, California.  

“Our current board has been striving to find new ways to improve and expand fire prevention education,” said Jessica Power, Fire Marshal for the San Bruno Fire Department and Secretary/Treasurer of the California Fire Prevention Institute. “Whether it’s integrating new technology, expanding course offerings, or increasing outreach, we consistently look to shape the future of our field and ensure anyone has access to the education they need.”  

View all 2025 ICC award recipients here.        

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