Safety codes

1. Applicant's or licensee's intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities shall meet the provisions of either the health care occupancies chapters or the residential board and care occupancies chapter of the Life Safety Code of the national fire protection association, 2012 edition. 2. Applicant's or licensee's group home facilities which are not intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities shall meet the applicable life safety standards established by the local governing municipality's ordinances. If the local governing municipality has no ordinances establishing life safety standards, the group home facilities shall meet the one-family and two-family dwellings chapter of the Life Safety Code of the national fire protection association, 2012 edition. 3. Upon written application, and good cause shown to the satisfaction of the department, the department may grant a variance from any specific requirement of the Life Safety Code, upon terms the department may prescribe, except no variance may permit or authorize a danger to the health or safety of the residents of the facility. 4. Applicant's or licensee's facilities housing individuals with multiple physical disabilities or impairments of mobility shall conform to American National Standards Institute Standard No. A117.1 (1980), or, if remodeled or newly constructed after July 1, 1995, with appropriate standards as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336. 5. Applicant's or licensee's buildings used to provide day services must conform to the appropriate occupancy chapters of the Life Safety Code of the national fire protection association, 2012 edition, and must meet applicable accessibility standards as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336. The selection of an appropriate Life Safety Code chapter shall be determined considering: a. Primary activities in the facility; b. The ability of eligible individuals occupying the facility to take action for self-preservation in an emergency; and c. Assistance available to eligible individuals occupying the facility for evacuation in an emergency. 6. All licensed day service facilities must be surveyed for Life Safety Code compliance at least annually. The department must be notified and a resurvey may be required if any of the following conditions are present between annual inspections: a. Occupancy increases of ten percent or more; b. Primary usage of the facility changes; c. Hazardous materials or processes are introduced into the facility; d. Building alterations or modifications take place; e. Eligible individuals requiring substantial assistance to evacuate in an emergency are enrolled; f. There are public or eligible individual concerns about safety conditions; or g. Other changes occur in physical facilities, activities, materials and contents, or numbers and capabilities of eligible individuals enrolled which may affect safety in an emergency.