Hurst Fire Department
"Making the Difference"
Group Home/Assisted Living Inspections

SCOPE: The information provided herein serves as a planning tool for compliance to all applicable Federal, State, and City adopted codes as amended.  Hereinafter, regulations as described in the International Codes for I-1, I-2, I-3, I-4, R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 within this document and located in an area zoned as residential, shall be referred to as “Home and Community Based Services.”  It does not remove the responsibility of the owner to comply with all laws applicable regarding Home and Community Based Services Inspections.

Inspection Required: The City of Hurst currently operates under the 2021 International Codes and 2021 Adopted Amendments. Home and Community Based Services are required to follow all applicable codes adopted by the City of Hurst as amended in addition to Federal, State, and all applicable standards, whichever is more restrictive.

Home and Community Based Service Inspection: All Home and Community Based Service providers are required to submit the HCS Program Provider Request Form for Life Safety Inspections to the Hurst Fire Marshal’s Office annually. Upon evaluating the completed form, the Fire Marshal’s Office will determine the need for a local authority inspection based upon the criteria described within the form.  The Home and Community Based service must provide the Fire Marshal Inspection Form 3654 upon inspection by the Hurst Fire Marshal’s Office.   

General Requirements: Fire alarms, detection systems, and sprinkler systems shall be installed in accordance to the most restrictive codes as required by the 2021 International Fire Code,  National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 101 Life Safety Code, NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, NFPA 13R Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Residential Occupancies up to and Including Four Stories in Height, or NFPA 13D Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, as specified in NFPA 101, Chapter 32 titled "New Residential Board and Care Occupancies" and Chapter 33 titled "Existing Residential Board and Care Occupancies," Group Homes TAC (Titled 40 Part 1 Chapter 90), and Commissioner’s Bulletin B-0046-07.

Care facilities encompass a full spectrum of occupant acuity and support services and span a wide range of occupancy types, including Groups E, I, and R. There are three types of care defined in the IBC and IFC: personal, custodial, and medical.

Personal Care:  Occupants are supervised, but do not need custodial or medical care.

Custodial Care: Occurs where occupants may be elderly or impaired, or require adult or child day care of any age. Care recipients may need daily living assistance such as cooking, cleaning, bathing or help with taking medications. Persons who receive custodial care may or may not require assistance with evacuation depending on the occupancy and the “condition” in the occupancy.

• Condition 1: This occupancy condition shall include buildings in which all persons receiving custodial care who, without any assistance, are capable of responding to an emergency situation to complete building evacuation.
• Condition 2: This occupancy condition shall include buildings in which there are any persons receiving custodial care who require limited verbal or physical assistance while responding to an emergency situation to complete building evacuation.

Institutional Group I-1: Institutional Group I-1 occupancy shall include buildings, structures or portions thereof for more than 16 persons, excluding staff, who reside on a 24-hour basis in a supervised environment and receive custodial care. Buildings of Group I-1 shall be classified as one of the occupancy conditions indicated below. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Alcohol and drug centers

Assisted living facilities

Congregate care facilities

Group homes

Halfway houses

Residential board and care facilities

Residential board and custodial care facilities

Social rehabilitation facilities

Group I-4 and R-4 occupancies are similar facilities that differ only by the number of residents receiving care. Group I-1 and R-4 occupancies are based on four characterizations described in the occupancy classification: both are facilities where custodial care is provided, there is 24-hour-a day supervision and the occupancy is either Condition 1 or Condition 2. The difference is the number of persons receiving care and residing in such facilities: Group I-1 has greater than 16 residents; Group R-4 has six to 16 persons. Note that Group I-1 and R-4 occupancies are limited facilities where custodial care is provided and not where medical care is provided.

Six to 16 persons receiving custodial care:  A facility housing not fewer than six and not more than 16 persons receiving custodial care shall be classified as Group R-4.

Care facilities within a dwelling: Care facilities for five or fewer persons receiving care that are within a single-family dwelling are permitted to comply with the International Residential Code provided an automatic sprinkler system is installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.3 or Section P2904 of the International Residential Code.

Medical Care: Medical care occurs in Group I-2 occupancies where care recipients are incapable of self-preservation. They may be completely bedridden, meaning bed movement may be required during emergencies; this level of acuity is not allowed in custodial care or personal care.

• Condition 1: This occupancy condition shall include facilities that provide nursing and medical care but do not provide emergency care, surgery, obstetrics, or in-patient stabilization units for psychiatric or detoxification, including, but not limited to, nursing homes and foster care facilities.
• Condition 2: This occupancy condition shall include facilities that provide nursing and medical care and could provide emergency care, surgery, obstetrics, or inpatient stabilization units for psychiatric or detoxification, including, but not limited to, hospitals.

Institutional Group I-2. Institutional Group I-2 occupancy shall include buildings and structures used for medical care on a 24-hour basis for more than five persons who are not capable of self-preservation. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Foster care facilities

Detoxification facilities

Hospitals

Nursing homes

Psychiatric hospitals

An occupancy classified in Group I-2 is characterized by three conditions: it is a health care facility where the level of care offered is medical care, there is 24- hour-a-day medical supervision for the individuals receiving care and patients/residents require physical assistance by staff or others to reach safety in an emergency situation.

Five or fewer persons receiving medical care: A facility with five or fewer persons receiving medical care shall be classified as Group R-3 or shall comply with the International Residential Code provided an automatic sprinkler system is installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.3 or with Section P2904 of the International Residential Code.