Iowa fire drill log
Assisted Living Program: Fire and evacuation drills must include COMPLETE EVACUATION of the premises, not less than six times a year on a bimonthly basis, with not less than two conducted at night when residents could reasonably be expected to be sleeping.
What Iowa requires
Fire and evacuation drills must include COMPLETE EVACUATION of the premises, not less than six times a year on a bimonthly basis, with not less than two conducted at night when residents could reasonably be expected to be sleeping.
Iowa Admin. Code 481—69 (assisted living programs); Iowa Fire Code ch. 4 · Iowa Dept. of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing · Iowa Fire Code ch. 4 / Iowa Admin. Code 481 · checked July 2026Filling it in so it survives a survey
Vary the time and the scenario between drills — many states require it in terms, and a log showing every drill at 10am on a Tuesday is the first thing an experienced surveyor picks out. Record what went wrong and the date it was fixed: a run of flawless drills reads as a log nobody actually ran, and the corrective action is the part that shows the drill was worth holding.
The plan behind the drills
A drill tests a plan. Everything Iowa requires of that plan — filing, prescribed forms, retention — sits alongside this, and the emergency plan builder writes it from the same research, so the two cannot disagree.
General information, not legal advice, and not a compliance determination. CompliMaint issues nothing — Iowa’s licensing agency and your authority having jurisdiction do. The rule above is cited and dated to when we last checked it; verify it before you rely on it.
Questions people ask
- How often are fire drills required in Iowa?
- Assisted Living Program: Fire and evacuation drills must include COMPLETE EVACUATION of the premises, not less than six times a year on a bimonthly basis, with not less than two conducted at night when residents could reasonably be expected to be sleeping. Source: Iowa Dept. of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing. Last checked July 2026.
- Who do I notify about fire drills in Iowa?
- How long must Iowa fire drill records be kept?