An Idaho state fire marshal is recommending fire codes be reviewed on a national level after a Pocatello nursing home that met all applicable fire codes was destroyed by fire, according to an article on The Spokesman-Review website.
All 49 residents —plus staff — survived the fire, with four to eight suffering smoke inhalation and a firefighter sustaining a knee injury. The estimated damage is greater than $2 million.
The building’s attic sprinkler system was abandoned in 2007 because national fire codes for the facility used by Idaho don’t require an operating sprinkler system in unoccupied areas.
The fire started in the wood-framed attic and spread.
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