Introduces bill to improve fire safety in nursing homes

June 13, 2007

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced The Nursing Home Fire Safety Act of 2007, which would provide low-interest loans and grants to nursing homes that cannot afford the upfront costs of installing automatic sprinkler systems.  Between 20 and 30 percent of the nursing homes in the United States currently lack automatic sprinkler systems, which have the ability to save many lives in the event of a fire.  Congressman John Larson (D-CT) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. 

“Today, many nursing homes are financially strained by inadequate reimbursement rates, rising energy costs, and the general cost of care for some of our country’s most vulnerable patients, making it difficult for them to afford life-saving equipment such as automatic sprinkler systems,” said Dodd.  “That is why we must do all that we can to provide them with the means to adequately outfit their facilities with the appropriate fire safety systems.  This modest and bipartisan bill would help provide critical resources to save lives and prevent unnecessary tragedies from occurring.”

“As our profession works to further broaden its quality mission, we understand our first, most basic priority, is to guarantee the physical safety of frail, elderly, and disabled residents within each long term care facility,” stated Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association. “Patient safety is an essential part of quality long term care; and while nursing home fires are rare, this bill brings necessary, renewed attention to fire prevention, and ensuring every facility in the nation is equipped with a modern, effective fire sprinkling system.”

Dodd originally introduced the legislation after a multi-alarm fire caused more than a dozen deaths at a nursing home in Hartford, Connecticut, in February of 2003.  The tragic loss of life was made worse by the fact that the nursing home lacked an automatic sprinkler system.  In its 2004 report, the Government Accountability Office found that the death toll could have been reduced by a properly functioning automatic sprinkler system. 

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