How often are fire drills required in South Dakota?

South Dakota fire drill log

Fire drills quarterly for each shift — but if the facility does NOT operate three shifts, it must instead run MONTHLY drills so that all personnel are trained. Fewer shifts means more frequent drills, which is the opposite of the intuition.

The building

South Dakota requirements loaded — the rules below are South Dakota’s own.

Facility name *Year

Address

State *

How many shifts does this building run? *South Dakota’s rule counts drills per shift, so this is the difference between “three drills done” and “all three shifts covered”. Saved to your facility, so nothing else asks again.

South Dakota — Assisted Living Center: Fire drills quarterly for each shift — but if the facility does NOT operate three shifts, it must instead run MONTHLY drills so that all personnel are trained. Fewer shifts means more frequent drills, which is the opposite of the intuition.S.D. Admin. R. art. 44:70 (assisted living centers); fire protection at ch. 44:70:03 · South Dakota Department of Health — Health Facility Licensure · checked Jul 2026

Your target for the year

12 drills this year. 4 per shift × 3 shifts = 12 a year.

We assumed three shifts, since this licence is staffed around the clock. Change it below if that is wrong.

Worked out from South Dakota Department of Health — Health Facility Licensure's rule as we have it recorded. Confirm it against your licence before you rely on it — then leave the box below empty and we will keep using this number.

Use a different number instead

0 of 12 logged, 12 to go.

The drills

One row per drill. Vary the time of day and the scenario — most states require it explicitly, and a log showing four drills all at 10am on a Tuesday is the first thing a surveyor notices.

DateTimeShiftAnnounced?

ScenarioClear / accounted (min)StaffResidents

What went wrongWhat was done about itConducted by

What South Dakota requires

Assisted Living Center — Assisted living / residential care

S.D. Admin. R. art. 44:70 (assisted living centers); fire protection at ch. 44:70:03 · South Dakota Department of Health — Health Facility Licensure · S.D. Admin. R. ch. 44:70:03 · checked July 2026

Filling it in so it survives a survey

Vary the time and the scenario between drills — most 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 South Dakota 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 — South Dakota’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.