Blunt seeking sprinkler requirement for long-term care facilities in Missouri

Gov. Matt Blunt is calling for sprinkler systems in all long-term care facilities in Missouri as recommended by the Departments of Health and Senior Services and Mental Health.

Blunt requested the report of existing fire safety and related protective oversight regulations and recommendations for improvements in the wake of 11 deaths resulting from a fire at the Anderson Guest House Residential Care Facility, a group home for the elderly and mentally ill in Anderson, Mo.

The subsequent 10-page report looked at existing regulations and laws and recommended improvements for 10 categories of fire safety for residential facilities throughout the state, said Nanci Gonder, public information officer for the DHSS.

It is the sprinkler systems the governor is supporting at this point, Blunt press secretary Jessica Robinson said.

"When he visited the site of the fire and saw firsthand the damage he intuitively questioned why there weren't sprinkler systems in every residential care facility," she said. "The other recommendations are still being considered at this time."

Robinson said that the DHSS will regulate the new sprinkler systems.

The report indicated officials' concern over the expense residential care facilities without sprinkler systems or with incomplete sprinkler systems will incur.

"We recommended that be phased in to give the opportunity for facilities without systems to do the complete installation," Gonder said.

Officials have not yet determined the length of the phase in period, she said.

There are approximately 367 licensed facilities that do not have complete sprinkler systems in Missouri, Gonder said. Seven of Cape Girardeau's nine residential homes monitored by the DHSS have sprinkler systems.

Gonder said she wasn't aware if any residential facilities that will be impacted by the new regulations have voiced concerns to the department since Blunt's announcement Dec. 29.

Sprinkler systems will require the approval of the National Fire Protection Association for full coverage, including attic space, unless a facility can prove it can't support the system due to unavailability of water supply requirements. In those cases, the facility must install and maintain an approved residential sprinkler system that does not require attic coverage.

Other recommendations by the DHSS include strengthening fire alarm systems, increasing fire drills and electrical system and fire safety regulation inspections, improved fire training of staff members and emergency evacuation/disaster preparedness plans and more stringent notification requirements.

Gonder said DHSS recommends prohibiting residents from smoking in their rooms, which is currently acceptable while residents are supervised.

And residential facilities with 12 or fewer residents that have a sprinkler or complete automatic fire detection system in place will no longer be able to let night staff sleep.

Gonder pointed out that recommendations involving sprinkler and fire alarm systems included a request they be incorporated into statutory requirements, rather than just as regulatory requirements and asked for a provision allowing the DHSS to impose civil monetary penalties against violators rather than through the circuit court, to ensure expediency.

"We also recommend revising the law to impose fine for repeat deficiencies," she said.

In preparing its recommendation to the governor, the DHSS compared regulations from other states including Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon and Tennessee and consulted with the Human Services Research Institution and the Missouri State Fire Marshal.

The Departments of Health and Senior Services and Mental Health report is available online at www.dhss.mo.gov

carel@semissourian.com

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