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WASHINGTON, DC — November 10, 2006 — All nursing homes would be required to have automatic sprinkler systems to protect residents from fires if a new federal regulation becomes final. Current regulations require sprinkler systems in newly constructed nursing homes and nursing homes that undergo renovations, but not in older facilities. About 14,317 nursing homes now have complete sprinkler systems, but 3,688 do not.
Automatic sprinkler systems reduce the risk of deaths due to fire because they limit the size of a developing fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas, according to the background section of the proposed rule. Also, limiting the fire’s growth gives staff, residents and the fire department more time to respond to the problem.
Structural fires in nursing homes are not uncommon. From 1994–1999, about 2,300 nursing homes reported fires each year, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO–04–660). The report looked at fires in two nursing homes without sprinkler systems in Hartford, CN and Nashville, TN, that resulted in the loss of 31 lives. It named sprinklers as the single most effective fire protection feature for nursing homes, estimating that there is an 82% reduction in the chance of death occurring during a fire in a building with sprinklers compared to the chance of fatalities in a building without sprinklers.
The agency responsible for nursing home safety, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), proposed the regulation about sprinkler systems. It is requesting comments through December 26, 2006, especially about the length of any phase–in period that would give nursing homes time to install the sprinkler systems. Detailed information about the proposed regulation as well as instructions for submitting comments may be found on the CMS web site. Scroll down to “Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, 42 CFR Part 483” in the lower right–hand portion of the page. The GAO report, entitled Nursing Home Fire Safety: Recent Fires Highlight Weaknesses in Federal Standards and Oversight, may be found on the GAO web site.
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