Rule 3701-17-25 | Disaster preparedness, fire and carbon monoxide safety.
(A) Each operator will provide, maintain, and keep current a written disaster preparedness plan to be followed in case of emergency or disaster. A copy of the plan will be readily available at all times within the nursing home. The nursing home will ensure that each staff member, consultant and volunteer is trained and periodically updated about the home's disaster preparedness plan and understands their role in the event of fire or other disaster or emergency. The plan will include the following:
(1) Procedures for evacuating all individuals in the nursing home, including:
(a) Provisions for evacuating residents with physical or cognitive impairments;
(b) Provisions for transporting all of the residents of the nursing home to a predetermined appropriate facility or facilities that will accommodate all the residents in the event a disaster necessitates long-term evacuation of the nursing home;
(c) A written transfer agreement, renewed biannually, with the appropriate facility or facilities for accommodating all of the residents of the nursing home in case of a disaster needing evacuation of the nursing home; and
(d) A paper and electronic copy of the disaster preparedness plan will be maintained off-site to ensure access by the nursing home director or nursing home staff in the event of an emergency.
(2) A plan for protection of all persons in the event of fire and when the fire alarm or sprinkler system is undergoing maintenance or inoperative, and procedures for fire control and evacuation, including a fire watch in accordance with rule 1301:7-7-09 of the Administrative Code;
(3) Procedures for locating missing residents, including notification of local law enforcement.
(4) Procedures for ensuring the health and safety of residents during severe weather situations, such as tornadoes and floods, and designation of tornado shelter areas in the home;
(5) Procedures, as appropriate, for ensuring the health and safety of residents in nursing homes located in close proximity to areas known to have specific disaster potential, such as airports, chemical processing plants, and railroad tracks; and
(6) Policies and procedures to ensure infection prevention and control in the event of an emergency or disaster needing evacuation or other movement of residents.
(B) Each operator will conduct the following drills, unless the state fire marshal allows a home to vary from this standard and the nursing home has written documentation to this effect from the state fire marshal:
(1) Twelve fire exit drills every year, approximately every three months on each shift to familiarize nursing home personnel with signals and emergency action necessary under varied times and conditions. Fire exit drills will include the transmission of a fire alarm signal to the appropriate fire department or monitoring station, verification of receipt of that signal, and simulation of emergency fire conditions except that the movement of infirm and bedridden residents to safe areas or to the exterior of the structure is not necessary. Drills conducted between nine p.m. and six a.m. may use a coded announcement instead of an audible alarm. The nursing home will reset the alarms after each drill; and
(2) At least two disaster preparedness drills per year, one of which will be a tornado drill during the months of March through July.
(C) Each operator will keep a written record and evaluation of each conducted drill and practice which includes the date, time, employee attendance, effectiveness of the plan, and training format used. This record will be on file in the nursing home for three years.
(D) Each operator will provide and post in a conspicuous place in each section and on each floor of the nursing home a correctly-oriented, wall-specific floor plan designating room use, locations of alarm sending stations, fire extinguishers, fire hoses, exits and flow of resident evacuation.
(E) Each operator will provide for annual training in fire prevention for regularly scheduled staff members on all shifts, to be conducted by the state fire marshal or township, municipal, or local legally constituted fire department. Semi-annually, the operator will ensure that all staff members are instructed in the home's fire control and evacuation and disaster procedures and kept informed of their duties under the evacuation plan.
(F) Each operator will conduct at least monthly a fire safety inspection which is recorded on forms provided by the department and kept on file in the nursing home for three years.
(G) If applicable, each nursing home will install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms or carbon monoxide detectors in accordance with the Ohio fire code section 1103.9.
(H) Each nursing home will notify the director by phone or electronic mail when there is an interruption affecting the resident health and safety due to an emergency or a disaster involving the nursing home.
Last updated July 17, 2025 at 7:59 AM
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