A recent Burr Ridge, Ill., nursing home fire was suppressed by the building’s fire sprinkler system until Tri-State Fire Protection District crews provided final extinguishment, preventing major damage and possible deaths. The successful fire sprinkler activation at Emeritus of Burr Ridge is a model example of why the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) now requires fire sprinklers in all new and existing long-term care facilities nationwide, according to an article on the Gnom.es National News Service web site.
The CMS federal rule requiring fire sprinklers in long-term care facilities became effective on August 13, 2013, following a five-year phase-in timeframe after publication in 2008. The rule, which applies to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) that are regulated by CMS for Medicare and Medicaid licensure, is a direct result of two deadly nursing home fires in 2003 .
"Fortunately, the nursing home in Burr Ridge was compliant with the newly enacted federal rule and protected by a fire sprinkler system," said Tom Lia, executive director of the nonprofit Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.
Read the article.
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