Robert Davidson Receives 2025 Bobby J. Fowler Award

Created to honor the memory of the first chairman of the International Code Council (ICC) Board of Directors, the Bobby J. Fowler Award award is presented to a leader who demonstrates integrity, professionalism and compassion in furthering the noble cause of ICC. The 2025 recipient is Robert Davidson, founder and Managing Partner of Davidson Code Concepts, LLC, who embodies each of those traits. 

“It’s humbling,” Davidson said of his award. “In my entire life I’ve never sought recognition, but it’s extremely humbling.” 

A retired Fire Marshal in the State of New Jersey, Davidson’s multi-decade career started at age 16 when he volunteered for a fire and rescue unit. Despite his age, it was not a junior role – he said he essentially worked as an auxiliary firefighter. 

Davidson’s career took another step forward at age 20 when he worked in both EMS and fire services in a paid on-call position, as well as law enforcement for a number of police departments. When a fire marshal position opened roughly five years later, it proved to be a perfect fit.  

“I was working part-time as a fire inspector under the building code and fire code in two New Jersey communities when the fire marshal job came up,” Davidson recalled. “It’s a combination of fire service and enforcement. It’s regulation of law enforcement.” 

Davidson relished the opportunity to dig deeper into a role that proved to be challenging and full of excitement. 

“Things come up, there are issues,” he said. “Code enforcement is mentally challenging to not just read the language that’s in the books but how to properly apply it to the real world. For ten years my office was merged into the police department, and I commanded the special operations division. After doing a number of different jobs, it fit.” 

Code Education and Development is More Than a Full-Time Job 

One job was never really enough for Davidson – his ambitions, and his passion for building codes and his desire to make a difference, were simply too great. He has volunteered for dozens of committees throughout his career, including the Construction Interpretations Committee for the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) before ICC was formed. 

“I started code development at the local level when I drafted the ordinance to adopt New Jersey’s new fire safety code back in 1984,” said Davidson. “It got reviewed by the attorney and they didn’t change a thing. Several years later, because I actively reviewed and commented on New Jersey’s administrative code for adoptions and changes to the building code and fire code, I was asked to sit on the New Jersey State Fire Safety Commission, Codes Advisory Council. I’m still on that even though I’ve lived in South Carolina for the last 16 years.” 

Davidson went on to chair the subcommittee to re-write the statewide New Jersey Fire Code, which led him to participate in code development at the national level.  

His work didn’t stop there, either. Davidson has also served the building safety community as an educator, course developer and course director for more than 30 years. In 1992 he incorporated his consulting business, Davidson Code Concepts, LLC. When he retired from being a fire marshal in 2005, he started consulting full-time. 

“I tell people, if they think they want to go into consulting, start consulting part-time five years before you retire,” Davidson advised. “When you retire, you’re already at it. The difference is you’ll be more available.” 

Full-time consultants may be more available for clients, but that doesn’t mean they’ll have more availability outside of work. Davidson said he now works more than he ever did as a fire marshal. 

“You have to address the clients’ needs, stay up on codes, etc.,” he said. “You don’t have a nine-to-five. It’s routine to be dealing with things late at night with clients on the West Coast. That means my day automatically goes until 8:00 p.m.” 

Many Awards for a Truly Outstanding Individual 

Davidson’s contributions to building and fire safety have gained a tremendous amount of attention from entities within the industry. 

In addition to winning the 2025 Bobby J. Fowler Award, Davidson is an Honorary Member of ICC. He also received the 2009 New Jersey Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s Annual Recognition Award, as well as the 2006 ICC Fire Service Award (now known as the Robert W. Gain Fire Prevention Leadership Award). 

Davidson was named “Fire Prevention Inspector of the Year” by the NJ Fire Prevention and Protection Association, BOCA Chapter 77 (now an ICC Chapter) in 2000 and “Fire Prevention Man of the Year” by the Middlesex County Fire Prevention and Protection Association in 1993.  

“Bob Davidson’s commitment to advancing ICC and its codes is remarkable,” said Michael O’Brian, Fire Chief for Brighton Area Fire Authority. “His commitment has truly been over the entire space of the International Codes, serving on committees, as chair of the Fire Code committee, serving on the FCAC and much more, and his unwavering desire for codes to be held in the highest regard. His passion comes through by leading workgroups and his drive to provide impact on the code development process.” 

O’Brian holds Davidson in the highest regard, adding, “Bob’s passion and depth of knowledge of our codes is an asset to our community. He has been steadfast in helping ICC members on the application of our codes and truly works to provide education across North America. He has worked tirelessly to provide training on emerging topics that affect the built environment. This has been paramount in programs with CFPI (California Fire Prevention Institute) for many years, on items such as energy storage systems, A2L, photovoltaic, batteries and other complex code issues.”

Sustainability and Resiliency Are Invaluable to Building Safety 

As someone who has been in fire and building safety for more than four decades, Davidson wants people to understand how our lives are impacted by the quality of the codes and code enforcement. 

“[If] due to a lack of a good code and good enforcement your home burns down, you just lost everything,” said Davidson. “If your business burns up, it’s not just a loss to the business owner. It’s a loss to every employee who suddenly doesn’t have a job. The codes in place and whether or not they’re properly enforced affects you in your day-to-day life.” 

Davidson said that the risks are not limited to dwellings and places of employment. For example, in a rural community with few retail options, the loss of a grocery store could make it very difficult to buy food. Where will you shop? How far will you have to drive? 

“People tend to watch the news or read an article [following a disaster] and think, ‘Oh, that’s terrible,’” Davidson added. “Well, it’s actually worse than terrible. It has a profound effect on people – losses due to fire, losses due to natural disaster, etc.” 

Sustainability and resiliency, he concluded, are the words of the day. 

“Properly built homes and businesses have always been about sustainability and resiliency,” said Davidson. 

View all 2025 ICC award recipients here.           

The Building Safety Journal (BSJ) Weekly is a weekly newsletter from the International Code Council that covers the latest news on the building safety and construction sectors. It offers everything from in-depth technical articles about innovative technologies to quick tips, personal perspectives and more. Click here to subscribe.