Section 370.2330  Building General

a)         General

1)         Building shall not be a structural part of a long-term care facility or other institutional buildings.

2)         Provide a room arrangement that will permit the facility to be divided functionally into living units for not more than twenty (20) residents.  Each living unit shall contain its own living room and dining room.

3)         Each facility shall have a maximum capacity of twenty (20) beds.

4)         Buildings of one (1) story in height shall be constructed of fire resistive, protected noncombustible, protected ordinary, protected wood frame, heavy timber, or unprotected noncombustible construction. Buildings of fire resistive construction are not limited in height or number of stories. Buildings of two (2) stories or more in height may be of any approved construction type and must be equipped throughout with an approved automatic extinguishing system, except for fire-resistive construction.

5)         All corridors shall be four (4) feet in clear and unobstructed width.

b)         Doors and Windows

1)         Main entrance and all exit doors shall be thirty six (36) inches in width and shall swing outward and be provided with door closers.

2)         Exit access doors and all doors used by the residents (except toilets) shall be thirty-two (32) inches in width, side-hinged, swingingtype.

3)         The doors for the toilet rooms used by residents shall have a minimum door width of thirty (30) inches.

4)         Resident toilet rooms shall open directly into a corridor or into a resident bedroom.

5)         No toilet or bathroom door shall be provided with hardware which could allow a resident to become locked in the room.  All toilet and bathroom doors and hardware shall be designed to permit emergency ingress to the room.

6)         Locks installed on residents' bedroom and apartment suite doors shall be so arranged that they can be quickly and easily unlocked from the corridor side.  All such locks shall be arranged to permit exit from the room by a simple operation without the use of a key.  The door may be lockable by the occupant if the door can be locked from the corridor side and keys are carried by the attendants at all times.

7)         All doors to bedrooms and exit corridors shall be a minimum of one and three-fourth (1¾) inches thick solid core wood or equivalent, with positive latching, and without louvers.

8)         Doors that are part of a 2-hour fire rated wall separating sections of the building, or an abutting building, must be at least one and one-half (1½) hour, "B" label and self-closing.

9)         Doors in stairways shall have a fire protection rating of twenty (20) minutes, be self-closing and self-latching.  Provide a wire glass vision panel in a steel frame.

10)         Doors and windows shall fit snugly and be weather tight, yet open and close easily.

11)         Outside doors, other than required exits, and operable windows shall be equipped with tight-fitting, 16-mesh screens.  Screen doors shall be equipped with self-closing devices.

c)         Floors

1)         Floors shall be smooth, free from cracks and finished so that they can be easily and properly cleaned.  Floors shall be covered wall to wall with water resistant material in wet areas including but not limited to bathrooms, kitchens, utility rooms.

2)         Thresholds and expansion joints shall be flush with the floor to facilitate use of wheelchairs and carts.

d)         Walls and Ceiling

1)         All rooms occupied or used by residents shall have ceilings not less than eight (8) feet in height.

2)         Corridors, storage rooms, toilet rooms and other minor rooms shall have ceilings not less than seven (7) feet eight (8) inches in height.

3)         Projections located in the path of traffic shall be not less than six (6) feet eight (8) inches above the floor.

4)         Materials used for wall construction shall be highly resistant to impact damage.

e)         Mirrors shall be installed above all lavatories except handwashing lavatories in food preparation areas.

f)         Provide paper towel dispensers and waste receptacles at all lavatories except those located within, or directly off of a resident's room.

g)         Interior finish materials (floors, walls and ceilings) shall be either Class A (flame spread 0-25 smoke development 0-450) or Class B (flame spread 26-75 smoke development 0-450).

h)         There shall be at least one (1) approved fire extinguisher in all basements, furnace rooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.  In addition, there shall be at least one fire extinguisher on each floor of the building, located so a person will not have to travel more than fifty (50) feet from any point to reach one.  They shall be inspected annually and recharged when necessary.  The date of checking and recharging shall be recorded on a tag attached to the extinguisher.

i)         

1)         Approved containers with proper covers shall be provided for storage of rubbish and waste.

2)         Housekeeping throughout the building, including basements, attics and unoccupied rooms shall be adequately performed to minimize fire hazards.