Summary The incumbent serves as the Fire Protection Inspector for the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System VA Medical Center/Health Care System. The duties include developing and advising on a comprehensive fire prevention and protection program, monitoring and conducting workplace inspections to determine compliance with applicable fire and life-safety standards, identifies fire hazards and vulnerabilities; develops mitigation recommendations; provides advice and guidance to management and employees. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Reviews architectural designs/plans for new construction and alternation and extension of existing structures and attends weekly project development meetings. Recommend changes and additions to project engineers/designers to ensure new construction complies with fire protection and prevention requirements based on established industry standards and guidelines. Inspects new and renovated construction areas weekly to ensure compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSH A) standards, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), The Joint Commission (TJC) and VA regulations are met. Conduct inspections on built-in fire protection features such as fire barriers, smoke barriers and fire doors. Coordinates inspections, testing and maintenance (ITM) on fire detection and suppression systems such as: sprinkler systems, fire pumps, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, and fire hydrants with Fire Protection System service vendors. Inspection frequency may be daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually, or annually. Coordinates scheduled and unscheduled fire protection system inspection, repair, and maintenance with Contracted FPS vendors. Duties include escorting vendors, validating work performed is in accordance with contractual requirements. Frequency may be daily, weekly, semiannually, or annually as prescribed by applicable national, agency, state/local policy or degree of risk to personnel, resources, and patients. Performs daily, weekly, semiannually, or annually as prescribed by applicable national, agency, or state/local tests and minor maintenance and repair of fixed protection systems and equipment to ensure operational condition. Performs vendor oversight for contracted FPS maintenance by acting as Contract Officer Representative (COR) and maintains qualifications/credentials. Issues, files and maintains hot work, fire wall penetration and confined space entry permits per local VAMC policy on a daily or as needed frequency. Verifies fire prevention controls are in place and effective for the duration of the permit by performing unannounced site inspections. Conducts fire prevention training to hospital staff including fire safety measures, means of egress, general life safety requirements, and Fire Prevention Week activities. Occasionally, inspectors participate with fire prevention or safety engineers in studying fire prevention problems. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Position Description/PD#: Fire Protection Inspector/PD112790 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/13/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational Requirement: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience that demonstrated the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Such duties may include (1) controlling or extinguishing fires as a member of an organized military, industrial, volunteer, or governmental fire department or brigade; (2) rescue operations; (3) detection, reduction, or elimination of potential fire hazards; (4) operation of fire communications equipment; (5) controlling hazardous materials incidents and/or (6) developing, implementing, or providing training in fire protection and prevention. Preferred Experience: Minimum one-year as fire alarm technician or installer is preferred. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compliance Inspection Project Management Public Safety and Security Public Safety and Security Risk Management Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Administrative duties required of the position are completed indoors in an office environment and are mostly sedentary in nature. Field inspections require moderate physical exertion in carrying or lifting equipment weighing up to 45 pounds. Extended periods of walking, standing, bending, and climbing stairs/ladders may be required to perform inspections of medical and support facilities. Vehicle operation duration of up to 4 hours may be required to inspect off-site locations. Working Conditions: On a regular and recurring basis, employees are required to work in all @types of weather conditions and faces risks and discomforts during inspections of buildings and support facilities requiring the use of protective equipment and various @types of protective clothing. Risks include high-voltage electrical systems, noise, heat, chemical exposure, biohazards, potential infection or contagious diseases, limited visibility, and impact hazards. The employee may be required to shelter on-site for prolonged periods of time during extreme weather events such as hurricanes and be subject to unplanned recall to respond to fire protection system outages, activations, or malfunctions. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
