Congratulations, Oyeleke Oyewole

Oyeleke Oyewele, maintenance and grounds manager, recently completed the experience requirements to be certified by FDNY as a Fire and Life Safety Director. This is the third step toward full certification. For the next year or so, Oyeleke will continue to work closely with Facilities' Regulatory Compliance and Life Safety team before taking an intensive onsite examination to earn the certification. We wanted to know more and we checked in with Leke this week.

How does the Fire and Life Safety Director certification impact your role?

One of the most important responsibilities in my current role is to make sure our buildings are in clean, habitable, and safe conditions at all times. Obtaining the Fire and Life Safety Director certification means increased safety responsibilities and the knowledge gained through this certification has equipped me with better decision making in terms of building safety, fire prevention, building compliance, and emergency response and preparedness.

The benefits of this new knowledge cannot be overstated as my team and I are usually the first reporters of unsafe conditions and also the first responders to fire and non-fire emergencies within our buildings. Taking this important step gives me confidence that with more knowledge, we can do more to keep our buildings safe.

What’s next with the process?

I have recently completed 3 stages of the certification process and I’m currently preparing for the final stage which is the Fire Life Safety Director (FLSD) Onsite Exam. This I intend to complete as soon as possible.

What are some things you learned through the certification process so far?

• How to ensure our buildings are safe including improving and upgrading our fire systems to be FDNY compliant.
• Type of fire alarm systems, standpipe systems, and fire extinguishers, etc. installed in the buildings on campus.
• Managing emergency preparedness including proper coordination with emergency response teams while maintaining composure during emergencies on campus.
• Managing fire prevention including running fire drills.
• Managing building evacuation procedures during emergency on campus.
• Responding to non-fire emergencies.

Congratulations, Leke! Keep up the good work and we look forward to hearing about your successful completion of the onsite exam!