§ 705.28. Fire safety.
(a) Exits.
(1) The nonresidential facility shall:
(i) Ensure that stairways, hallways and exits from rooms and from the nonresidential facility are unobstructed.
(ii) Maintain a minimum of two exits on every floor, including the basement, that are separated by a minimum distance of 15 feet.
(iii) Maintain each ramp, interior stairway and outside steps exceeding two steps with a well-secured handrail and maintain each porch that has over an 18 inch drop with a well-secured railing.
(iv) Clearly indicate exits by the use of signs.
(v) Light interior exits and stairs at all times.
(2) Portable ladders and rope escapes are not considered exits, but may be used in addition to standard exits.
(b) Smoke detectors and fire alarms. The nonresidential facility shall:
(1) Maintain a minimum of one operable automatic smoke detector on each floor, including the basement and attic.
(2) Place the smoke detector in a common area or hallway. All detection devices shall be interconnected.
(3) Repair inoperable smoke detectors or fire alarms within 48 hours of the time the detector or alarm is found to be inoperative.
(4) Maintain a manual fire alarm system that is audible throughout the facility.
(5) Maintain automatic smoke detectors and fire alarms of a type approved by the Department of Labor and Industry or by the Underwriters Laboratories.
(c) Fire extinguishers. The nonresidential facility shall:
(1) Maintain a portable fire extinguisher with a minimum of an ABC rating which shall be located on each floor. If there is more than 2,000 square feet of floor space on a floor, there shall be an additional fire extinguisher for each 2,000 square feet or fraction thereof.
(2) Maintain at least one portable fire extinguisher with a minimum of an ABC rating in each kitchen.
(i) This fire extinguisher shall meet the requirements of one portable fire extinguisher for a 2,000 square foot area.
(ii) The extinguisher shall be located near an exit and away from the cooking area.
(3) Ensure fire extinguishers are inspected and approved annually by the local fire department or fire extinguisher company. The date of the inspection shall be indicated on the extinguisher or inspection tag. If a fire extinguisher is found to be inoperable, it shall be replaced or repaired within 48 hours of the time it was found to be inoperable.
(4) Instruct staff in the use of the fire extinguisher upon staff employment. This instruction shall be documented by the facility.
(d) Fire drills. The nonresidential facility shall:
(1) Conduct unannounced fire drills at least once a month.
(2) Conduct fire drills during normal staffing conditions.
(3) Ensure that all personnel on all shifts are trained to perform assigned tasks during emergencies.
(4) Maintain a written fire drill record including the date, item, the amount of time it took for evacuation, the exit route used, the number of persons in the facility at the time of the drill, problems encountered and whether the fire alarm or smoke detector was operative.
(5) Prepare alternate exit routes to be used during fire drills.
(6) Conduct fire drills on different days of the week, at different times of the day and on different staffing shifts.
(7) Set off a fire alarm or smoke detector during each fire drill.
(8) Prohibit the use of elevators during a fire drill or a fire.
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.
This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Code full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
