What Does a Fire Safety Manager Do?
For residents, students, staff, and the local fire department, fire safety managers ensure the readiness of a site's alarms, sprinklers, exits and evacuation plans. The ability to track every alarm panel, sprinkler valve and extinguisher is essential to ensure that each building passes its inspection. Most work for universities, hospital systems, large employers or property managers.
Fire Safety Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a fire safety manager include:
- Schedule and oversee testing of fire alarms, sprinklers, fire pumps and kitchen hood systems.
- Inspect residence halls, labs and assembly spaces for blocked exits, overloaded outlets and banned appliances.
- Run fire drills in every building and write up evacuation times and problems.
- Review renovation plans for fire code issues before they go to the local fire marshal.
- Issue hot work permits for welding and cutting, and check that a fire watch is posted.
- Investigate small fires and false alarms, and fix the causes behind repeat calls.
- Prepare the annual fire safety report that federal law requires for campus housing.
- Supervise fire safety inspectors and technicians and assign their daily routes.
- Train staff and students to use extinguishers and to help people with disabilities evacuate.
- Meet the local fire department on pre-incident plans, hydrant access and alarm response.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a fire safety manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Fire inspector certification through the ICC or the state fire marshal
- NFPA codes and the local fire code
- Fire alarm and sprinkler system basics
- Plan review for building renovations
- Supervising inspectors and contractors
- Teaching fire safety to people outside the field
- Record-keeping for inspections and deficiencies
- Calm leadership during evacuations
Education and Training
Most fire safety managers come from firefighting or fire inspection, but some start out by working as fire alarm or sprinkler technicians. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award, such as a fire academy or fire inspector certificate, as the typical entry education for this supervisor group. A degree in fire science often helps.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $72,140 - $119,500 per year, with a median of $93,530.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers.
According to BLS, employment of first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers is projected to grow about 4 percent from 2025 to 2035. The group sees about 6,600 openings a year, most of them in municipal fire departments. Campus and hospital posts are fewer, and candidates who hold inspector certification, know the local code and have run drills in occupied buildings tend to get the interviews.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers.