New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services
Subchapter C - Social Services
Article 3 - Child-care Agencies
Part 442 - Institutions
Section 442.5 - Fire protection

(a) Compliance with applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and codes.

Buildings used in whole or in part as an institution must comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and codes relating to fire protection and safety.

(b) Fire protection systems required.

(c) Installation and inspection of fire protection systems and equipment.

All fire protection systems and equipment must be designed, installed, and maintained in accordance with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and must be tested monthly. All fire protection systems and equipment must be inspected twice a year by a person qualified to install and service such systems and equipment who is not a staff member of the sponsoring agency. A written report of such inspection must be kept on file by the institution. All identified defects in systems or equipment must be corrected and reinspected immediately.

(d) Fire extinguishers.

Fire extinguishers must be provided and maintained in accordance with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. Fire extinguishers must be wall-hung between two feet and four-and-one-half feet above the floor. There must be a minimum of one fire extinguisher on each floor, and additionally, one in the kitchen, one in the laundry room and one outside any heating equipment room.

(e) Floors used by children; alternate exits.

All floors used by children must be separated from each other by a smoke stop separation and have alternate means of egress remotely located from each other and readily accessible to the occupants. A child care institution must have a minimum of two means of egress from each floor. Access to such means of egress must be by way of a door at floor level. All exit doors and means of egress must swing in the direction of exit and conform to the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code requirements for panic hardware and self-closing mechanisms. All stairs and ramps from such exits must terminate at ground level. For a window opening to qualify as a means of egress, it must be at least 30 inches in its smallest dimension with the bottom of the window no higher than three feet six inches above the floor unless acceptable access is provided by steps or furniture fixed in place. An upper level window, to qualify as a means of egress, must also have a platform outside the window and a stair, permanently affixed to the building, leading to ground level. The department may require more than the minimum number of exits if the physical layout of the facility is such that more exit capacity is required to ensure the safety of the occupants.

(f) Exit doors, halls and stairs.

All exit doors and means of egress, halls and stairs must be well lighted and kept clean, free of obstruction and ready at all times for immediate use. Illuminated exit and directional exit signs and battery-operated or generator-powered emergency lighting units or systems must be provided and maintained in accordance with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. Doors used as smoke stop separations must be equipped with self-closing devices and magnetic hold-open devices.

(g) Awake child care staff.

Awake child care staff must be on duty in all institutions at night or any other times children in the institution are customarily asleep. Awake staff must be positioned so as to be able to hear all children at all times. During sleeping hours, there must be a sufficient number of awake child care workers to provide supervision appropriate to the needs of children in care.

(h) Emergency lights.

Staff must be provided with emergency lights, such as flashlights or battery-operated lanterns, in good working order.

(i) Building and fire protection equipment; inspection by fire authorities or insurance carrier.

Each institution must request in writing an annual safety inspection of all buildings occupied by children and their fire protection equipment by local fire authorities and/or the institution's fire and casualty insurance carrier, who must be requested to give the institution a written report of their findings. An institution is responsible for correcting any hazards called to its attention as a result of such inspection and for keeping a copy of the report and a written record of the action taken, with date, on file. An institution must keep a copy of the written request for inspection and the response on file and must notify the department immediately in the event that such request for inspection is rejected by the local fire authorities or the institution's fire and casualty insurance carriers.

(j) Electrical, heating and ventilating systems.

Electrical wiring and equipment must comply with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and any other applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and codes. Certification of such compliance is required for all new facilities prior to opening and a record of such certification of compliance must be kept on file in the facility and a copy forwarded to the department. The department may require recertification of the safety of an electrical system in any facility where the electrical system appears to be unsafe or inadequate, or if new electrical work has been done. Heating, ventilating and other mechanical systems must comply with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and any other applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and codes and must be designed, installed, located and maintained so that under normal conditions of use such equipment and systems are not a danger to the health or welfare of children or staff in the facility. Heating plants and equipment must be protected from tampering by children.

(k) Combustible or flammable materials or liquids; use by children.

Combustible or flammable materials or liquids must not be used by children except under the direct personal supervision of responsible staff members. Such materials must be stored in a fire resistive receptacle or room or in a separate building.

(l) Evacuation of buildings.

A plan of evacuation of buildings with printed procedures to be followed in case of fire must be posted throughout the institution in conspicuous places. Children and staff must be instructed in evacuation of the building. Newly admitted children and newly hired staff must be instructed in evacuation procedures as part of their orientation to the institution.

(m) Fire drills.

Fire drills must be held at different times of the day and night and as often as is needed to familiarize and instruct children and staff with the routine, but at least once every 30 days. A fire drill census, taken at each drill, must be checked against the daily or bedtime census. A written record of all fire drills must be kept on file at the institution for a period of one year.

(n) Use of fire equipment and procedures.

Each employee must be instructed in the use of firefighting equipment and procedures and must be assigned specific responsibilities which include knowledge of the location of fire extinguishers in the part of the building for which the employee is responsible. Each employee's primary responsibility in the event of a fire is the safe evacuation of children from the building to a predesignated safe area of refuge.

(o) Restrictions on occupancy in buildings of wood frame construction.

Children are not permitted above the second story in a building of type 5, wood frame construction (that type of construction in which the walls, partitions, floors and roof are wholly or partly of wood or other combustible materials). Children of limited mobility are not permitted above the first story in a building of wood frame construction. A building of wood frame construction occupied by children of limited mobility must be protected by a sprinkler system and the first story must be accessible to children of limited mobility and accommodate the needs of such children.

(p) Emergency telephone numbers.

A minimum of one non-coin operated, single-line telephone must be provided and must be accessible at all times in each building occupied by children. Emergency telephone numbers for fire, police, and medical assistance must be posted on or adjacent to all telephones.

(q) Reporting of fires.

A child care agency must report promptly by telephone to the department the occurrence of any fire in any facility operated by such agency. The report must be made as soon as possible and in no event later than 24 hours after the fire, and must then confirm the occurrence of the fire by a written report to the department within 10 working days after the date of the fire. The written report must include: