New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE › Chapter XIII - Office of Mental Health › Part 594 - Operation Of Licensed Housing Programs For Children And Adolescents With Serious Emotional Disturbances › Section 594.17 - Determination of capacity of self-preservation

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) The evacuation capacity of residents is a
				function of both the ability of the residents to evacuate and the assistance
				provided by staff. Determination of satisfactory ability to evacuate should be
				made prior to admission to a housing program. Such a determination may be
				reached by review of the applicant's history and a face-to-face interview which
				shows a capacity to evacuate equivalent to that of the general public. When
				uncertainty exists a time drill may be used for a more objective
				measurement.
(b) Subsequent to
				admission, a program of timed drills should be used to regularly evaluate the
				level of evacuation capability of program residents. Translation of drill times
				to evacuation capability may be determined as (1) three minutes or less,
				prompt; (2) over three minutes but not in excess of 13 minutes, slow.
				Evacuation capability is based on the time of day or night when evacuation of
				the facility would be the most difficult (i.e., sleeping residents or fewer
				staff present). Residents needing assistance in evacuating should be assisted
				by staff to the extent that assistance would be available at the time of day or
				night in an actual emergency.
(c)
				Fire exit drills shall be conducted at least monthly. Some drills may be
				announced in advance to the residents. The drills shall involve the actual
				evacuation of all residents to an assembly point as specified in the emergency
				plan and shall provide residents with experience in exiting through all exits.
				Actual exiting from windows shall not be necessary to meet the requirements of
				this section. Opening the window and signaling for help shall be an acceptable
				alternative. Records should indicate the time to evacuate, date and times of
				day, location of simulated fire origin, the escape paths used and comments
				relating to residents who did not evacuate within the required time.
(d) Residents and prospective residents shall
				only reside in or be admitted to a type of housing program appropriate to the
				youths' evacuation capability.
(1) If a
				resident or prospective resident is clearly capable of prompt evacuation, that
				youth may be admitted to or remain in any housing program of a type appropriate
				to his or her functional level.
(2)
				If a resident fails to demonstrate a capability for prompt evacuation during a
				fire drill, the matter should be completely documented in the fire drill log
				and in the resident's record. Immediate steps should be taken to relocate the
				resident to a location within the residence which will allow for easier egress
				for such time as is necessary until another fire drill can be conducted (no
				more than 14 days) and the resident's behavior observed again.
(3) If any resident or prospective resident
				would be excluded from a housing program because of inability to evacuate
				within the time limits above, an evaluation shall be conducted as described in
				the most current recognized edition of the National Fire Protection Association
				101A, Alternative Approaches to Life Safety. Said codes are published by the
				National Fire Protection Association, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269
				and are available for review at the Department of State, Division of
				Administrative Rules, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY
				12231 and the Office of Mental Health, Bureau of Inspection and Certification,
				44 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12229. If the resultant E-score yields an
				evacuation difficulty level of prompt, the applicant or resident shall not be
				excluded for failure to evacuate within the required time limit. If the
				resultant E-score yields an evacuation difficulty level of slow, the applicant
				or resident shall not be excluded solely for failure to evacuate within the
				required time frame from a facility that is constructed to meet the slow
				evacuator standards of the current recognized edition of the Life Safety
				Code.