By David A. Lieb
The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — About two-thirds of Missouri’s licensed residential care facilities were cited for at least one fire safety violation over the past four years, according to an Associated Press analysis.
The analysis of inspection citations provided by the Department of Health and Senior Services also found that the state’s roughly 635 residential care facilities have been hit with more than 1,500 fire safety violations from 2003 through mid-December 2006.
The AP requested the database figures under the state’s open records law following a November 27 fire that killed 11 people at a home for the mentally ill and disabled.
Gov. Matt Blunt’s administration expressed concern about the magnitude of violations revealed by the AP’s request. Although it enters inspection citations into a database, the health department had not previously tallied the number of deficiencies cited on a statewide bases.
“The number of violations in the last several years is very alarming,” Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said upon reviewing a summary of the citations. “When there’s a violation of the fire regulations or codes, that’s a missed opportunity of prevention. It’s a missed opportunity to save a life.”
More than half of the Missouri facilities cited for fire safety problems were repeat offenders, meaning they had citations in multiple years or in follow-up inspections during the same year.
Group homes were most commonly cited for violations involving fire drill requirements, fire alarm systems and “protection from hazards,” which can include fire-and-smoke deterrent construction.
Comparing Missouri’s fire safety violations at group homes to those in other states is difficult. In fact, what’s considered a residential care facility varies widely from state-to-state. And unlike for nursing homes, the federal government does not dictate standards for group homes.
The November 27 fire at the Anderson Guest House started in the attic and swept through the one-story building. State fire officials cited an electrical short or overload as a possible cause.
The facility had been cited for failing to conduct an annual fire inspection in 2000, but had not been cited for fire problems in more recent years. The three other facilities run by the same company all had received fire safety citations since 2003.
Since the fire, the departments of health and mental health have recommended various ways to strengthen the state’s fire safety regulations for such group homes, including a sprinkler system mandate. More than half of the state’s group homes currently lack sprinkler systems, including the Anderson facility that burned.
State inspectors check a wide variety of things, from a facility’s fire safety to its patient care and food preparation. Facilities cannot renew their regular operating licenses as long as troubles linger, though they often are granted temporary permits.
Some long-term care administrators said the sheer number and general categories of fire safety violations made the problems appear worse than they are.
The Jolet Home in Kansas City, for example, had 22 fire safety violations from 2003-2006. Of the three most recent citations, one involved the way the facility reported its fire drills and another stemmed from an emergency light that didn’t work when tested by an inspector — though it had worked both before and after that when tested by the facility, said Ronald Thompson, the administrator of Jolet II Inc.
The other citation occurred because an inspector found old cigarette butts mixed with paper in a non-metal trash can, Thompson said Monday.
“It’s not like there was a serious fire risk,” said Thompson, adding that he believed his fire precautions are good. “Being the administrator of two buildings that aren’t brand new, nobody worries more about fire than me.”
At Page Manor in St. Louis, inspectors reported 27 fire safety violations over a three-year period, including the failure to have a smoke separation barrier between the floors of the three-story building or an automatic sprinkler system that covers the full facility.
But administrator Aneeqa Khan insisted Monday that the building has been equipped with sprinklers for years and does have smoke-resistant construction. She, too, describes her fire safety preparations as good.
State Sen. Jack Goodman, who represents the Anderson area, plans to sponsor legislation enhancing the state’s oversight of long-term care facilities. He was surprised when told there had been 1,571 fire safety violations over four years.
“It’s possible that high numbers of first-time offenses means the state’s doing a good job, but if we’re seeing repeat violations without any consequences, I’m very concerned about that,” said Goodman.