The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri’s governor signed new fire safety requirements Friday for the state’s long-term care facilities in response to a deadly fire at a group home for the mentally ill and disabled.
Gov. Matt Blunt signed the bill at the site of the former Anderson Guest House in southwest Missouri, where 11 people died in a Nov. 27 fire. The fire had smoldered in the attic before sweeping through the building.
“The lessons learned by what happened last November will not be forgotten,” Blunt said. “With this legislation we are enhancing the safety at our long-term care facilities.”
The legislation requires complete fire alarms and heat detector systems by the end of 2008. It also requires sprinkler systems by the end of 2012, though lawmakers concerned about the installation costs exempted many residential care and assisted living facilities from that requirement.
Of the state’s 616 long-term care facilities, about half don’t have sprinkler systems.