Fully sprinklered nursing homes were a long time coming

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01/10/2013

By August 13, all new and existing nursing homes in the United States must install automatic fire sprinklers if they wish to participate in the Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement program. The requirement, a direct result of two deadly nursing home fires that occurred in 2003, as well as the culmination of a half-century of improvements in fire safety regulations aimed at reducing nursing home fires, was highly anticipated.

"Long Time Coming" in the most recent issue of NFPA Journal, explains how the 1963 fire at the Golden Age Nursing Home in Fitchville, Ohio, which killed 63 residents and the Katie Jane Nursing Home fire, which killed 72 people six years earlier mark the start of a half-century of dramatic change in nursing home safety, driven by code requirements and the regulatory role of the federal government. To read the entire article, turn to page 62 in the January/February issue or visit NFPA Journal online.

Posted by Kathie Robinson on 01/10/2013 at 01:42 PM in Codes and standards, Fire events, Historic fires, NFPA 101, NFPA Journal®, Safety, Sprinklers | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Golden Age nursing home, Golden Age nursing home fire, Katie Jane nursing home, Katie Jane nursing home fire, NFPA, NFPA Journal, nursing homes, sprinklers, sprinklers in nursing homes

Comments

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I'm glad that the government is now serious in their efforts in requiring the installation of automatic fire sprinklers to all nursing homes in United States. Informative post. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Safe Harbor | 01/24/2013 at 09:36 PM

I can't believe it, they should have implemented it long ago. Anyway, good move for the government. There are other safety measures to tap to be implemented.

Posted by: Bryan @ CNA Training | 03/21/2013 at 10:00 PM

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