What does a fire safety director do?
A fire safety director is an executive professional who is responsible for developing and implementing fire safety plans that address fire safety systems to protect lives and properties. This director is required to conduct fire safety inspections of facilities and implement emergency evacuation strategies that are following the rules and regulations of the local fire department. The director must train fire wardens, fire brigade, and employees about the proper use of fire equipment and evacuation safety precautions. This fire safety director must also inspect fire extinguishers and provide instructions on the proper use of these extinguishers.
Fire safety director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real fire safety director resumes:
- Develop and manage statistical and trending analysis in alignment with SMS principles.
- Manage a new a program for the emergency response team plant wide.
- Manage CCTV video surveillance operations and elevator controls.
- Manage and implementation of safety/security systems to include CCTV.
- Manage HSE programs for a national corporation specializing in concrete product manufacturing.
- Follow basic FSD responsibilities including training fire wardens and fire brigade members.
- Perform payroll, equipment training, purchasing, employee reviews, OSHA training, and NFPA training.
- Ensure compliance with regulatory agency requirements in accordance to fire safety standards and FDNY regulations.
- Conduct fire and EAP drills.
- Maintain records require by NYC law.
- Exercise punctuality, courtesy, professionalism and respect.
- Train security/ FSD's, emphasizing strong customer satisfaction.
- Provide training for residence life staff including CPR certifications.
- Have a working knowledge of ISO family of international standards.
- Prepare Clery reports and review NYPD complaint index for clery-relate occurrences.
Fire safety director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Fire Safety Directors are proficient in Customer Service, Emergency Situations, and NYC. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical strength, Detail oriented, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Fire Safety Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 16%
Designed specialized training curriculum Explosive Awareness, Customer Service, Search Procedures and Guest Communications.
- Emergency Situations, 13%
Instructed staff on proper procedures for emergency situations and evacuations.
- NYC, 11%
Conduct various inspections and tests at appropriate intervals to comply with NYC Fire Code and FDNY rules and regulations.
- Life Safety Systems, 9%
Contributed service and expertise overseeing a fire life safety system, all security equipment, and training for security officers.
- Building Evacuation, 6%
Monitor elevator operations/emergencies Responsible for the training and activities of the Building Evacuation Supervisor.
- Fire Safety Plan, 4%
Have knowledge of written Fire Safety Plan for fire drill and evacuation procedure in accordance with Fire Prevention code.
"customer service," "emergency situations," and "nyc" are among the most common skills that fire safety directors use at work. You can find even more fire safety director responsibilities below, including:
Physical strength. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a fire safety director to have is physical strength. Their role and responsibilities require that "fire investigators may have to move debris at the site of a fire in order to get a more accurate understanding of the scene." Fire safety directors often use physical strength in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "supervised the training of physically challenged employees of dcas office buildings in fire evacuation procedures. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling fire safety director duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "fire inspectors must notice minutiae when inspecting sites for code violations or fire risks or for investigating the cause of a fire." According to a fire safety director resume, here's how fire safety directors can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "write detailed reports of fire code violations observed, and corrective recommendations offered. "
Communication skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of fire safety directors is communication skills. This skill is critical to many everyday fire safety director duties, as "fire inspectors must clearly explain fire code violations to building and property managers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted evaluation drills and, monthly testing of communication and fire alarm systems. "
The three companies that hire the most fire safety directors are:
- Allied Universal
48 fire safety directors jobs
- Securitas AB4 fire safety directors jobs
- Quality Building Services Inc2 fire safety directors jobs
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Compare different fire safety directors
Fire safety director vs. Deputy fire marshal
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, fire safety director responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "nyc," "life safety systems," and "building evacuation." Meanwhile a typical deputy fire marshal has skills in areas such as "criminal justice," "public safety," "law enforcement agencies," and "cpr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Deputy fire marshals really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $37,629. Comparatively, fire safety directors tend to make the most money in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $57,903.On average, deputy fire marshals reach similar levels of education than fire safety directors. Deputy fire marshals are 4.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Fire safety director vs. Fire official
Each career also uses different skills, according to real fire safety director resumes. While fire safety director responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "emergency situations," "nyc," and "life safety systems," fire officials use skills like "fire safety codes," "emergency calls," "non-life," and "inspection programs."
Fire officials earn similar levels of education than fire safety directors in general. They're 4.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fire safety director vs. Fire assistant
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a fire safety director is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "nyc," "life safety systems," and "building evacuation," while a typical fire assistant is skilled in "ladders," "nfpa," "emergency operations," and "code violations."
Fire assistants typically earn similar educational levels compared to fire safety directors. Specifically, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fire safety director vs. Fire inspections coordinator
Even though a few skill sets overlap between fire safety directors and fire inspections coordinators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a fire safety director might have more use for skills like "customer service," "emergency situations," "nyc," and "life safety systems." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of fire inspections coordinators require skills like "ladders," "osha," "administrative tasks," and "electrical equipment. "
In general, fire inspections coordinators hold similar degree levels compared to fire safety directors. Fire inspections coordinators are 2.5% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of fire safety director
Updated January 8, 2025
