DHS 134.83(4)(a)(a) If a facility houses more than 16 residents, it shall have an emergency electrical service with an independent power source which covers lighting at living unit stations, telephone switchboards, exit and corridor lights, boiler room, fire alarm systems and medical records when solely electronically based. The service may be battery-operated if effective for at least 4 hours.

DHS 134.83(4)(b)(b) In small facilities flashlights shall be readily available to staff on duty in the event that there is an electrical power interruption.

DHS 134.83(5)(a)(a) Carpeting. Carpeting may not be installed in rooms used primarily for food preparation and storage, dish and utensil washing, cleaning of linen and utensils, storage of janitor supplies, laundry processing, hydro-therapy, toileting and bathing, resident isolation or resident examination.

DHS 134.83(5)(e)(e) Vertical exit stairwells.

DHS 134.83(5)(e)1.1. In all multi-story facilities there shall be at least one enclosed exit stairway for all floors, except that if floors are divided into fire sections there shall be at least one enclosed exit stairway for each fire section. This exit stairway shall provide an enclosed protected path of at least one-hour fire-rated construction for occupants to proceed with safety to the exterior of the facility.

DHS 134.83(5)(f)(f) Fire escapes.

DHS 134.83(5)(f)1.1. An outside fire escape is permitted in an existing facility as one of the required means of exiting the facility if it meets all of the following requirements:

DHS 134.83(5)(f)1.b.b. No part of the path of exit from the facility may be across a roof or other part of the facility that is made of combustible materials;

DHS 134.83(5)(f)1.c.c. To protect against fire in the facility, the walls directly under the stairway and for a distance of 6 feet in all other directions shall be blank or closed walls. A window is permitted within this area if it is stationary or of steel sash construction and is glazed with wire glass of not less than 1/4-inch thickness. The size of the wire glass part of the window may not exceed 1296 square inches and not more than 54 inches in either length or width;

DHS 134.83(5)(f)2.2. Small facilities shall meet either the requirements of subd. 1. or the provisions of the lodgings and rooming house section of the applicable life safety code.

DHS 134.83(5)(g)(g) Conditions for housing certain residents above the street level floor. Residents who are blind, non-ambulatory or physically disabled may not be housed above the street level floor in an existing facility of 2 or more stories that is not at least 2-hour fire-resistive construction unless the facility is one-hour protected noncombustible construction as defined in standard 220 of the NFPA’s National Fire Code, 1979 edition, fully sprinklered one-hour protected ordinary construction or fully sprinklered one-hour protected wood frame construction.

DHS 134.83(5)(h)(h) Storage of oxygen. Oxygen tanks when not in use shall be stored in a ventilated closet designated for that purpose or stored outside the facility building in an enclosed and secured area.

DHS 134.83 NoteNote: The 1978 and 1979 editions of NFPA’s National Fire Code referenced in pars. (b) and (g) can be obtained from the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Copies are kept on file in the offices of the Department’s Division of Quality Assurance and the Legislative Reference Bureau.

DHS 134.83(6)(a)(a) Existing facilities. All existing facilities shall have automatic sprinkler protection throughout all buildings unless all walls, partitions, piers, columns, floors, ceilings, roof and stairs are built of noncombustible material and all metallic structural members are protected by a noncombustible fire-resistive covering.

DHS 134.83(6)(b)(b) Certification. Certification that the sprinkler system is in proper operating condition shall be obtained annually from a licensed sprinkler contractor. A copy of the certification document shall be kept on file in the facility.

DHS 134.83(6)(c)(c) New construction and conversions. All newly constructed facilities, additions and buildings to be converted shall have automatic sprinkler protection throughout. In the event of an addition to or remodeling of an existing facility, the facility shall have automatic sprinkler protection throughout the building unless there is a 2-hour fire-rated partition wall between the old and new construction, in which case only the new addition or remodeled area shall be sprinklered. Facilities with more than 16 beds shall meet the automatic sprinkler protection standard 13 of NFPA’s national fire code, 1985 edition. Facilities with 16 or fewer beds shall meet either standard 13 of that edition of the code or standard 13D of NFPA’s national fire code, 1984 edition.

DHS 134.83 NoteNote: The 1984 and 1985 editions of NFPA’s National Fire Code can be obtained from the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Copies are kept on file in the office of the Department’s Division of Quality Assurance and the Legislative Reference Bureau.

DHS 134.83(6)(d)(d) Sprinkler plans. All sprinkler plans shall be submitted to the department’s bureau of quality compliance for review and approval before installation of the sprinkler system.