Affordable Fire Safety in Board and Care Homes. A Regulatory Challenge. Final Report.
Affordable Fire Safety in Board and Care Homes. A
Regulatory Challenge. Final Report.
(6326 K)
Levin, B. M.; Groner, N. E.; Paulsen, R.
NIST GCR 93-632; 79 p. July 1993.
Sponsor:
National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, MD
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB93-219723
Keywords:
board and care homes; egress; elderly persons;
evacuation; fire codes; fire safety; handicapped; NFPA
101; residential buildings; sprinklers
Abstract:
This is the final technical report on a project
concerning fire safety in Board and Care Homes. Homes
vary greatly in the level of disability of residents and
financial resources of the residents. A major concern
is the availability of satisfactory care for clients
with limited funds. Meeting fire safety codes can mean
an unaffordable capital cost to financially marginal
providers who cannot borrow money. One focus of the
study is the use of the provisions in the Life Safety
Code. Many agencies use these requirements and find
they lead to a high level of safety without excessive
costs. All have developed or adopted a procedure for
rating Evacuation Difficulty that they find workable,
and many find satisfactory. Other agencies use other
requirements, sometimes more lenient and often more
strict. Costs of fire safety systems, such as
sprinklers, can vary greatly, impending a dialogue on
the benefit-cost relationships of these systems. It
appears that in some locations there are many homes that
provide the services of Board and Care Homes but are not
regulated.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899