City College Fire Training Center

Jovan Blake teaches hose-line management, forcible entry and engine company operations at City College’s Firefighter 1 Academy. His work on the training center brought that instructional perspective into consultation and subject-matter expertise for the project team.

The program called for facilities serving an accredited regional Firefighter 1 academy. Interior hose-line space with water drainage, multiple forcible-entry door props and several vertical ventilation options made those training activities part of the facility’s physical requirements.

Making the funding case

During the early stages, Jovan contributed programming knowledge, conceptual design and bridging documents. That work connected the academy’s requirements with material the college could use to advance the project. The initial design documents helped secure an additional $2.5 million in bond funding needed to complete it.

Keeping the academy represented through construction

Jovan assisted Hamilton-Aitken Architects with construction documents, details and project specifications for the request-for-proposals process. His support continued through bidding and construction, when he represented the Fire Academy in reviews of construction questions, contractor submissions and supplemental directions from the architect.

That continuing involvement gave the academy representation as the project moved from its early program into the decisions being documented and built. The center was completed in 2021.

A prop he designed, and taught students to use

The connection between design and instruction is visible in the academy’s forcible-entry training. Jovan designed a training prop and has also taught students using it. In that hands-on evolution, his contribution as a designer and his work as an instructor meet at the same prop.

The academy's requirements stayed represented through design, bidding and construction.