The Stuart Tom Building Official of the Year is awarded to a Building Code Official who is recognized for their contributions toward leadership and code compliance in fire prevention regarding the developed environment in California, and for their partnership with the California Fire Prevention Officers.
In October 2024, the Building Official of the Year Award was renamed the Stuart Tom Building Official of the Year Award in honor of his enduring impact on our profession. This recognition reflects his involvement with the California Fire Prevention Officers, and his vision and leadership in uniting building and fire code officials.
Stuart Tom is known as a leader of competence and character, and for a legacy of creating cohesion between building and fire code officials. He mentored fire code officials, chaired the California Fire Prevention Officers Code Committee, and served as the primary author of Chapter 7A - Materials and Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure. He was also an inaugural member of the California Building/Fire Advisory Committee and served the fire and building safety industry with distinction as President of the International Code Council from 2023 to 2024.