New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
He - Department of Health and Human Services
Subtitle He-P - Former Division of Public Health Services
Chapter He-P 800 - RESIDENTIAL CARE AND HEALTH FACILITY RULES
Part He-P 830 - ACUTE PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS
Section He-P 830.25 - Fire Safety
Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules He-P 830.25
Current through Register No. 52, December 26, 2024
(a) All PRTPs shall meet the appropriate occupancy chapter of NFPA 101, as adopted by reference in RSA 153:1, VI-a, except as modified in Saf-FMO 300, based on the scope of services provided by the licensee.
(b) All PRTPs, including those with 3 or fewer clients, shall have:
(1) Smoke
detectors on every level and in every bedroom that are interconnected and
either hardwired, powered by the PRTP's electrical service, or wireless, as
approved by the state fire marshal for the PRTP;
(2) At least one UL Listed, ABC type portable
fire extinguisher, with a minimum rating of 2A-10BC installed on every level of
the building with a maximum travel distance to each extinguisher not to exceed
50 feet and maintained as follows:
a. Fire
extinguishers shall be inspected either manually or by means of an electronic
monitoring device or system at least once per calendar month, at intervals not
exceeding 31 days;
b. Records for
manual inspection, or electronic monitoring shall be kept to demonstrate that
at least 12 monthly inspections have been performed;
c. Annual maintenance shall be performed on
each extinguisher by trained personnel, and a tag or label shall be securely
attached that indicates that maintenance was performed; and
d. The components of the electronic
monitoring device or system in a. above, if used, shall be tested and
maintained annually in accordance with the manufacturers listed maintenance
manual; and
(3) An
approved carbon monoxide monitor on every level.
(c) An emergency and fire safety program shall be developed and implemented to provide for the safety of clients and personnel.
(d) Immediately following any fire or emergency, including but not limited to, gas leak or evacuation of the facility due to flooding or an explosion, 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.
(e) The written notification required by (d) above shall include:
(1) The date and time of
the incident;
(2) A description of
the location and extent of the incident, including any injury or
damage;
(3) A description of events
preceding and following the incident;
(4) The name of any personnel or clients who
were evacuated as a result of the incident, if applicable;
(5) The name of any personnel or clients who
required medical treatment as a result of the incident, if applicable;
and
(6) The name of the individual
the licensee wishes the department to contact if additional information is
required.
(f) A copy of the fire safety plan including fire drill actions shall be made available to and reviewed with the client, or the client's guardian or a person with durable power of attorney (DPOA) over the client, at the time of admission and a summary of the client's responsibilities shall be provided to the client. Each client shall receive an individual fire drill walk-through within 5 days of admission, as appropriate.
(g) The fire safety plan shall be reviewed and approved as follows:
(1) 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;
(2) The
local fire chief shall give written approval initially to all fire safety
plans; and
(3) If changes are made
to the plan, they shall be submitted to the local fire chief for review and
approval, prior to the change.
(h) Fire drills shall be conducted as follows:
(1) 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:
a. 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;
b. Clients 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;
c. All PRTP 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 clients are sleeping. Actual exiting
from windows shall not be required, however opening the window and signaling
for help shall be an acceptable alternative;
d. The drills shall involve the actual
evacuation of all clients 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 clients with experience in
egressing through all exits and means of escape, except as noted in c. above;
e. Facilities shall complete a
written record of fire drills that include 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 clients,
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;
f. 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;
g. At admission, the
facility shall conduct a client Fire Safety Evacuation Scoring System (FSES) as
listed in NFPA 101A, Alternatives to Life Safety, to determine the clients'
needs during a fire drill including mobility, assistance to evacuate, staff
needed, risk of resistance, clients' ability to evacuate on his or her own, and
choosing an alternate exit; and
h.
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 clients just prior to the drill; and
(2) For PRTPs originally constructed to the
health care occupancy chapter of the life safety code and to the codes, rules
and regulations adopted and enforced by the state fire marshal's office and/or
the municipality, or which have been physically evaluated, rehabilitated, and
approved by a New Hampshire licensed engineer qualified in fire protection, the
state fire marshal's office, and the department pursuant to
He-P
830.07, to meet the health care occupancy chapter, the
following shall be required:
a. 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);
b.
Fire drills shall be conducted quarterly on each shift to familiarize facility
personnel such as medical personnel, maintenance engineers, and administrative
staff with the signals and emergency action required under varied
conditions;
c. Fire drills shall
include the transmission of a fire alarm signal and simulation of emergency
fire conditions;
d. Buildings that
have a shelter-in-place plan, also known as defend-in-place plan, shall have
this plan approved by the department per the state fire code, as adopted
pursuant to
RSA 153:1,
VI-a and amended in Saf-FMO 300 by the fire
marshal with the board of fire control, pursuant to
RSA 153:5,
and their local fire chief and shall be constructed to meet the health care
occupancy chapter of the life safety code;
e. 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;
f. If the
facility has an approved defend or shelter in place plan, then all personnel,
clients, 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 clients shall be given the experience of evacuating to
the appropriate location or exiting through all exits;
g. 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;
2. The
location of exits used;
3. The
number of people, including clients, personnel, and visitors, participating at
the time of the drill;
4. The
amount of time taken to completely evacuate the facility to an approved area of
refuge or through a horizontal exit;
5. The name and title of the person
conducting the drill;
6. A list of
problems and issues encountered during the drill, if any;
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; and
h. 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.
(i) Storage and use of
oxygen cylinders or systems shall comply with NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities
Code.
#10059, eff 12-23-11
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