NAC424.400. Safety from fire: Equipment; walls and ceilings.

     1. All foster homes must have operating, 5-pound portable fire extinguishers on each story of the structure. Each fire extinguisher must:

     (a) Have a minimum rating of 2-A 10BC.

     (b) Be mounted or readily available as designated by the licensing authority representative pursuant to the State Fire Marshal’s instructions.

     (c) Be located within 75 feet of traveling distance from any point within the foster home.

     (d) Be in working order.

     2. The licensing authority may require at least a type 13-D sprinkler system in any foster home which has three or more nonambulatory persons, or which provides care to three or more children who are under 18 months of age or to five or more children who are under 6 years of age.

     3. Any portable fire extinguishers, alarm systems and sprinkler systems must be serviced and tagged annually by a company which is appropriately licensed by the State Fire Marshal.

     4. Every foster home must have smoke detectors which conform to Standard No. 43-6 of the Uniform Building Code. The smoke detectors must be located in every room where foster children sleep and mounted on a ceiling or wall at a point centrally located in a corridor or area giving access to rooms used for sleeping. Where sleeping rooms are located on an upper level of a building, a smoke detector must be placed at the center of the ceiling directly above the stairway. The smoke detectors may be battery operated or may receive their primary power from the building wiring.

     5. Foster homes with 10 or more occupants must meet all requirements for fire extinguishers and alarms as are determined by the State Fire Marshal following an inspection of the foster home.

     6. Interior wall and ceiling finishes which are more than 1/28-inch thick must have a flame spread rating of Class III.

     [Welfare Div., Req. for Foster Care part § 108.1, eff. 10-19-90; + part § 108.6, 10-7-88, eff. 1-1-89; A 5-19-89; 10-19-90]—(NAC A by Div. of Child & Fam. Services, 11-14-97; R044-02, 7-23-2002)

Notation

REVISER’S NOTE.

      The regulation of the Welfare Division of the Department of Human Resources (now the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services of the Department of Health and Human Services) that became effective October 19, 1990, and which amended subsection 1 and is the source of subsections 2 and 6 of this section, contains the following provision not included in NAC:

      “Facilities licensed prior to October 19, 1990, must comply with the fire and safety standards in existence at the time of licensure and need not meet the new proposed requirements unless there is a change in license type or evacuation capability of the occupants.”