He-P 805.25 Fire Safety.

 

  • SRHCFs shall meet one of the following requirements:
    • All SRHCFs established after October 25, 2006, shall meet the Health Care Occupancy Chapter of NFPA 101 as adopted by the commissioner of the department of safety in Saf-C 6000, and as amended pursuant to RSA 153:5, I, by the state fire marshal with the board of fire control; or
    • All SRHCFs established prior to October 25, 2006, shall meet at a minimum the Residential Board and Care Chapter of NFPA 101 as adopted by the commissioner of the department of safety in Saf-C 6000, and as amended pursuant to RSA 153:5, I, by the state fire marshal with the board of fire
  • All SRHCFs shall have:
    • Smoke detectors on every level and in every bedroom that are interconnected and either hardwired, powered by the SRHCF’s electrical service, or wireless, as approved by the state fire marshal for the SRHCF;
  • At least one ABC type fire extinguisher on every level or every 75 feet of corridor as required by NFPA 10; and
  • An approved carbon monoxide monitor on every
  • Immediately following any fire or emergency situation, licensees shall notify the department by phone to be followed by written notification within 72 hours, with the exception of:
    • A false alarm or emergency medical services (EMS) transport for a non-emergent reason; or
    • Emergency EMS transport related to pre-existing
  • The written notification required by (c) above shall include:
    • The date and time of the incident;
    • A description of the location and extent of the incident, including any injury or damage;
    • A description of events preceding and following the incident;
    • The name of any personnel or residents who were evacuated as a result of the incident, if applicable;
    • The name of any personnel or residents who required medical treatment as a result of the incident, if applicable; and
    • The name of the individual the licensee wishes the department to contact if additional information is
  • If the licensee has chosen to allow smoking, a designated smoking area shall be provided which has, at a minimum:
    • A dedicated ventilation system, so that smoke or odors cannot escape or be detected outside the designated smoking room;
    • Walls and furnishings constructed of non-combustible materials; and
    • Metal waste receptacles and safe
  • A copy of the fire safety plan including fire drill actions shall be made available to and reviewed with the resident, or the resident’s guardian or a person with durable power of attorney (DPOA), at the time of admission and a summary of the resident’s responsibilities shall be provided to the resident. Each resident shall receive an individual fire drill walk-through within 5 days of admission, as
  • The fire safety plan shall be reviewed and approved as follows:
    • A copy of the fire safety plan shall be made available, annually and whenever changes are made, to the local fire chief for review and approval;
    • The local fire chief shall give written approval initially to all fire safety plans; and
    • If changes are made to the plan, they shall be submitted to the local fire chief for review and approval, as appropriate, prior to the
  • Fire drills shall be conducted as follows:
  • For buildings constructed to the Residential Board and Care or One and Two Family Dwelling Chapters of the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), the following shall be required:
    1. The administration of every residential board and care facility shall have, in effect and available to all supervisory personnel, written copies of a plan for protecting all persons in the event of fire, for keeping persons in place, for evacuating persons to areas of refuge, and for evacuating persons from the building when necessary;
    2. Residents shall be trained to assist each other in case of fire or emergency to the extent that their physical and mental abilities permit them to do so, without additional personal risk;
    3. All SRHCF facilities shall conduct fire drills not less than 6 times per year on a bimonthly basis, with not less than 2 drills conducted during the night when residents are sleeping. Actual exiting from windows shall not be required, however opening the window and signaling for help shall be an acceptable alternative;
    4. The drills shall involve the actual evacuation of all residents to an assembly point, as specified in the emergency plan, and approved by the department and the local fire authority based on construction of the building and shall provide residents with experience in egressing through all exits and means of escape;
    5. Facilities shall complete a written record of fire drills that includes the following:
      1. The date and time including AM/PM the drill was conducted and if the actual fire alarm system was used;
      2. The location of exits used;
      3. The number of people, including residents, personnel, and visitors, participating at the time of the drill;
      4. The amount of time taken to completely evacuate the facility;
      5. The name and title of the person conducting the drill;
      6. A list of problems and issues encountered during the drill;
      7. A list of improvements and resolution to the issues encountered during the fire drill; and
      8. The names of all staff members participating in the drill;
    6. At no time shall a staff member who has not participated in a fire drill be the only staff member on duty within the facility;
    7. At least annually, the facility shall conduct a resident Fire Safety Evacuation Scoring System (FSES) as listed in NFPA 101A, Alternatives to Life Safety, to determine the residents needs during a fire drill including, but not limited to, mobility, assistance to evacuate, staff needed, risk of resistance, residents ability to evacuate on their own and choose an alternate exit; and
    8. The fire drills for facilities built to the Residential Board and Care chapter of the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), shall be permitted to be announced, in advance, to the residents just prior to the drill;
  • For all SRHCFs that were originally constructed to meet the Health Care Occupancy Chapter of Life Safety Code, NFPA 101 as adopted by the commissioner of the department of safety in Saf-C 6000, and as amended pursuant to RSA 153:5, I, by the state fire marshal with the board of fire control, and the rules and regulations adopted and enforced by the state fire marshal’s office and/or the municipality or have been physically evaluated, renovated and approved by a New Hampshire licensed fire protection engineer, the NH state fire marshal’s office and the department to meet the Health Care Occupancy Chapter, the following shall be required:
    1. The facility shall develop a fire safety plan, which provides for the following:
      1. Use of alarms;
      2. Transmission of alarms to fire department;
      3. Emergency phone call to fire department;
      4. Response to alarms;
      5. Isolation of fire;
      6. Evacuation of immediate area;
      7. Evacuation of smoke compartment;
      8. Preparation of floors and building for evacuation;
      9. Extinguishment of fire; and
      10. Written emergency telephone numbers for key staff, fire and police departments, poison control center, 911, and ambulance service(s);
    2. Fire drills shall be conducted quarterly on each shift to familiarize facility personnel including, but not limited to, medical personnel, maintenance engineers, and administrative staff, with the signals and emergency action required under varied conditions;
    3. Fire drills shall include the transmission of a fire alarm signal and simulation of emergency fire conditions;
    4. Buildings that have a shelter in place, also known as defend in place, shall have this plan approved by the department and their local fire chief and shall be constructed to meet the Health Care Occupancy Chapter of the Life Safety Code;
    5. When drills are conducted between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., a coded announcement shall be permitted to be used instead of audible alarms;
    6. If the facility has an approved defend/shelter in place plan, then all personnel, residents, and visitors shall evacuate to that appropriate location or to the outside of the building to a selected assembly point and drills shall be designed to ensure that residents shall be given the experience of evacuating to the appropriate location or exiting through all exists;
    7. Facilities shall complete a written record of fire drills and include the following:
      1. The date and time including AM/PM the drill was conducted and if the actual fire alarm system was used;
  1. The location of exits used;
  2. The number of people, including residents, personnel, and visitors, participating at the time of the drill;
  3. The amount of time taken to completely evacuate the facility or to an approved area of refuge or through a horizontal exit;
  4. The name and title of the person conducting the drill;
  5. A list of problems and issues encountered during the drill;
  6. A list of improvements and resolution to the issues encountered during the fire drill; and
  7. The names of all staff members participating in the drill; and
  1. At no time shall a staff member who has not participated in a fire drill be the only staff member on duty within the facility; and
  • The facility shall conduct a fire drill in the presence of a representative of the department, state fire marshal’s office, or the local fire department upon

 

He-P 805.26 Emergency Preparedness.

  • Each facility shall have an individual or group, known as an emergency management committee, with the authority for developing, implementing, exercising, and evaluating the emergency management program. The committee shall include the facility administrator and others who have knowledge of the facility and the capability to identify resources from key functional areas within the facility and shall solicit applicable external representation, as
  • The emergency management committee shall develop and institute a written Emergency Preparedness Plan (plan) to respond to a disaster or an
  • The plan in (b) above shall:
    • Include site-specific plans for the protection of all persons on-site in the event of fire, natural disaster, or severe weather and human-caused emergency to include, but not be limited to, missing residents and bomb threat;
    • Be approved by the local emergency management director and reviewed and approved, as appropriate, by the local fire department;
    • Be available to all personnel;
    • Be based on realistic conceptual events;
    • Be modeled on the Incident Command System (ICS) in coordination with local emergency response agencies;
    • Provide that all personnel designated or involved in the emergency operations plan of the facility shall be supplied with a means of identification, such as vests, baseball caps, or hard hats, which shall be worn at all times in a visible location during the emergency;
  • Include the facility’s response to both short-term and long-term interruptions in the availability of utility service in the disaster or emergency, including establishing contingency plans for continuity of essential building systems or evacuation to include the following, as applicable:
    1. Electricity;
    2. Water;
    3. Ventilation;
    4. Fire protection systems;
    5. Fuel sources;
    6. Medical gas and vacuum systems, if applicable; and
    7. Communications systems;
  • Include a plan for alerting and managing staff in a disaster, and accessing Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), if necessary;
  • Include the management of residents, particularly with respect to physical and clinical issues to include:
    1. Relocation of residents with their medical record including the medicine administration records, if time permits, as detailed in the emergency plan;
    2. Access, as appropriate, to critical materials such as pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, food supplies, linen supplies and industrial and potable water; and
    3. How to provide security during the disaster;
  • Identify a designated media spokesperson to issue news releases and an area where the media can be assembled, where they won’t interfere with the operations of the facility;
  • Reflect measures needed to restore operational capability with consideration of fiscal aspects because of restoration costs and possible cash flow losses associated with the disruption;
  • Include an educational, competency-based program for the staff, to provide an overview of the components of the emergency management program and concepts of the ICS and the staff’s specific duties and responsibilities; and
  • If the facility is located within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant and is part of the New Hampshire plan for radiological emergency preparedness, include this plan in the event of a radiological disaster or
  • The facility shall conduct and document with a detailed log, including personnel signatures, 2 drills a year at least one of which shall rehearse mass casualty response for the facility with emergency services, disaster receiving stations or
  • For the purposes of emergency preparedness, each licensee shall have the following supplies of foods and water maintained on the premises based on the average daily census of residents and staff:
    • Enough refrigerated, perishable foods for a 3-day period;
    • Enough non-perishable foods for a 7-day period; and
    • Potable water for a 3-day