Open almost any approved fire safety plan in British Columbia and the first page of the supervisory staff section names a Fire Safety Director. It is the role people get handed at a strata council meeting or in a new property manager’s first week, often with no explanation of what it involves. Here is what the job really is, where it comes from in the BC Fire Code, and what your fire department expects from the person whose name is on that page.

Where the role comes from

The BC Fire Code does not actually use the title Fire Safety Director. The code talks about supervisory staff, meaning the occupants of a building who have delegated responsibility for the fire safety of other occupants under the fire safety plan. Fire departments across the Lower Mainland publish fire safety plan guidelines based on the Fire Prevention Officers’ Association of BC template, and those guidelines organize supervisory staff into a Fire Safety Director, a Deputy Fire Safety Director and, in larger buildings, fire wardens. Coquitlam and North Vancouver, for example, both call for the Fire Safety Director and deputy to be named in the plan.

The code itself sets out what the supervisory staff structure has to achieve. Article 2.8.2.1 requires every fire safety plan to cover the appointment and organization of designated supervisory staff to carry out fire safety duties, and the training of supervisory staff and other occupants in their fire safety responsibilities.

Who appoints the Fire Safety Director

Division C of the BC Fire Code makes the owner, or the owner’s authorized agent, responsible for carrying out the code. The code’s explanatory notes say supervisory staff are assigned their responsibilities by the building owner. So the appointment comes from the owner side:

• in a strata building, the strata council, often on the advice of the property manager
• in a commercial building, the owner or the management company acting as its agent
• in a care home, school or hotel, the operator’s management, often the facility or maintenance manager

The person appointed should be someone who is regularly in or near the building and reachable when the alarm sounds. The notes make the point that, except in hospitals and nursing homes, supervisory staff do not have to be in the building at all times, but they must be available to carry out their duties when notified of a fire emergency.

The Fire Safety Director’s core duties

The details vary by building, but the duties we write into most BC plans fall into five groups.

Know the building and its systems

The plan must include documents and diagrams showing the type, location and operation of the building’s fire emergency systems. The Fire Safety Director is the person expected to understand them: the fire alarm panel and annunciator, sprinkler and standpipe valves, the fire department connection, emergency power and, in a high-rise, the voice communication system and elevator recall. The code also requires that keys or special devices needed to operate the fire alarm system be readily available to on-duty supervisory staff.

Train supervisory staff before they take on duties

Article 2.8.1.2 is blunt: supervisory staff must be trained in the fire emergency procedures in the plan before they are given any responsibility for fire safety. The Fire Safety Director usually runs or arranges that training for the deputy and the wardens, and keeps a record of who was trained and when.

Run the fire drills

Drill frequency depends on the occupancy, from at least once every 12 months in most buildings to monthly in daycares and Group B occupancies and every two months in high-rises. The Fire Safety Director plans the drill, leads it and records the results.

Control fire hazards day to day

The plan has to cover the control of fire hazards in and around the building and the inspection and maintenance of building facilities provided for occupant safety. In practice that means checking that exits and corridors are clear, fire doors close and latch, storage is not creeping into service rooms, and inspection and testing contractors are booked on time.

Keep the plan current

The fire safety plan must be reviewed at intervals not greater than 12 months. The Fire Safety Director is usually the person who flags changes: new tenants, renovations, a new alarm contractor, or a change of property manager.

What happens when the alarm sounds

In an emergency, the Fire Safety Director, or the deputy if the director is not there, typically:

• confirms the alarm and makes sure the fire department has been called
• directs wardens to begin evacuation and to sweep their areas
• makes sure persons requiring assistance are being helped
• meets the first fire crew with the plan, keys and any information about the fire location and occupants still inside
• does not re-enter the building or allow anyone back in until the fire department gives the all clear

Fighting the fire is not the job. The plan covers confining and controlling the fire where it is safe to do so, but the priority is getting people out and getting the fire department what it needs.

What the fire department expects

When a fire inspector opens your plan, they expect the supervisory staff section to name real, current people with current phone numbers. A plan that lists a Fire Safety Director who moved away three years ago is one of the most common deficiencies we see. Inspectors may also ask the Fire Safety Director directly where the fire alarm panel is, how to silence and reset it, or where the main sprinkler valve sits. Our guide to what Vancouver Fire Rescue Services requires in a fire safety plan shows how one department approaches this.

Article 2.8.2.13 also requires that a copy of the fire emergency procedures and other supervisory staff duties be given to all supervisory staff. A Fire Safety Director who has never seen the plan is a problem on its own.

The deputy and the wardens

The Deputy Fire Safety Director steps in whenever the director is absent and usually shares the drill and training work. Fire wardens handle their own floor or area: sweeping it during an evacuation, checking stairwells and washrooms, and reporting to the director at the assembly point. We cover the warden side in our article on fire warden responsibilities.

Frequently asked questions

Can a property management company be the Fire Safety Director?

The role is filled by a named person, but that person can be a property manager or building manager employed by the management company, acting as the owner’s authorized agent. What matters is that the person is trained, reachable and actually knows the building.

Does the Fire Safety Director need a certificate or licence?

The BC Fire Code requires supervisory staff to be trained in the plan’s procedures before they take on fire safety duties. It does not set out a provincial certificate for the role. Some fire departments and employers have their own training expectations, so check with your local department.

What do we do when our Fire Safety Director changes?

Update the supervisory staff page of the plan, brief the new person on the plan and the building systems, and record that training. If you are a GetFirePlan client, Fire Safety Director and deputy name changes are updated free of charge.

Get a plan with a supervisory staff section that works

We have been preparing fire safety plans across BC since 2003, more than 1,000 of them, for strata councils, property managers, operators and builders in Surrey, Vancouver and beyond. Every plan includes clear, site-specific duties for your Fire Safety Director, deputy and wardens. Our pricing is upfront and approval is guaranteed. Request a quote through our contact page or call (778) 574-2895.