State Regulated Care Facilities

Fire Safety and Evacuation Planning for state-regulated care facilities in Use Groups R-2, R-3, R-4, and R-5 Licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Overview

This information outlines the fire safety and evacuation planning requirements for residential-based State Regulated Care Facilities (SRCF) located in Chesapeake, Virginia. A State Regulated Care Facility is a building classified as a Use Group R-2, R-3, R-4, or R-5 occupied by persons in the care of others where program oversight is provided by the following state agencies: Department of Social Services, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Department of Education, and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Fire Safety and Evacuation plans are required. In accordance with Chapter 4 of the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, an approved fire safety and evacuation plan shall be prepared and maintained when a State license is required by one of the Commonwealth of Virginia agencies listed above to operate a State Regulated Care Facility. These are the minimum requirements to meet the intent of the code. Download a sample Emergency Plan (PDF)and a sample Evacuation-Site Plan (PDF).

Definitions

Residential Group R-1

Residential occupancies containing sleeping units where the occupants are primarily transient in nature; examples are Hotels, Motels Boarding houses.

Residential Group R-2

Residential occupancies containing sleeping units or more than 2 dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature; examples are Apartment houses, Dormitories, and vacation timeshares.

Residential Group R-3

Residential occupancies where the occupants are primarily Permanent in nature; examples are Boarding houses (non-transient) with 16 or fewer occupants and care facilities that provide accommodations for 5 or fewer persons receiving care.

Residential Group R-4

This occupancy shall include buildings, structures or portions thereof for more than 5 but not more than 16 persons who reside on a 24-hour basis in a supervised environment and receive custodial care; examples are alcohol and drug centers, assisted living facilities, group homes, halfway houses, residential board, and custodial care facilities.

Residential Group R-5

The R-5 Use Group by definition is Single and Two family dwellings occupied by persons in the care of others where Program Oversight is provided by the Virginia Department of Social Services, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Virginia Department of Education, or Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice.

Approval Required

Pursuant to Section 401.2 of the State-wide Fire Prevention Code, required fire safety and evacuation plans shall be approved by the Office of the Fire Marshal. To accomplish this approval, required fire safety and evacuation plans shall be submitted to Chesapeake's Life Safety Specialist electronically via emailing the Fire Department. Once the plan is reviewed and approved, an electronic copy will be provided to you. Plans may be hand-drawn if the plan is accurate and legible.

All submitted plans are approved based on the information provided to the Chesapeake Fire Marshal's Office. If information or changes are made, you must notify our office.

Documentation & Drills

In accordance with Section 404.4 of the Statewide Fire Prevention Code, fire safety and evacuation plans shall be available in the workplace for reference and review by employees and copies shall be furnished to the fire code official for review upon request.

Use Groups & Occupancy Related Requirements

Different Use Groups within the Statewide Fire Prevention Code have different requirements in regard to Employee and Staff Training requirements and Drill Frequencies. The R-5 Use Group, by definition, is Single, One and Two-Family Dwellings occupied by persons in the care of others where Program Oversight is provided by the Virginia Department of Social Services, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Virginia Department of Education or Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. The R-5 Use Group falls under SRCF, which requires monthly drills by all occupants.

Required Emergency Evacuation Drills for Other R-Use Groups

• Note 1: Fire and evacuation drills in residential care assisted living facilities shall include complete evacuation of the premises in accordance with Section 403.9.3.6. Where occupants receive habilitation or rehabilitation training, fire prevention and fire safety practices shall be included as part of the training program.
• Note 2: Group B buildings having an occupant load of 500 or more persons or more than 100 persons above or below the lowest level of exit discharge.
• Note 3: Applicable to Group R-2 college and university buildings in accordance with Section 403.9.2.1.

Additional information can be found through the Virginia Department of Behavior Health and Developmental Services and the Virginia Department of Social Services.

For additional questions, please contact our office directly at 757-382-6566 and ask to speak to our Life Safety Specialist.