Emergency plan rules in Arkansas
One license type researched, regulated by Arkansas Department of Human Services — Office of Long Term Care. Every requirement below carries the rule that imposes it.
Assisted living / residential care
Licensed in Arkansas as Assisted Living Facility Level I / Level II, by Arkansas Department of Human Services — Office of Long Term Care.
20 CAR pt. 410 (Assisted Living Facilities Level I) and pt. 411 (Level II); 20 CAR § 411-1404(a)(3) (written evacuation plan approved by the local fire marshal); § 410-1606(f) (heating and cooling); DHS OLTC Rules for Assisted Living Facilities Level I and Level II (R. 01/01/2024) §504.1 (relocation policies), §504.4 (staff orientation), §507.3 (incident reports)
The drill frequency for Arkansas assisted living facilities is not verified. The fire-code drill text this entry used to cite was never read in an Arkansas-adopted text.
Open the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code as adopted by the State Fire Marshal and read the §405 drill requirements for the facility's occupancy (Level II new construction is IBC Group I-2 under 20 CAR § 411-1404(a)(2)), and the licensing rule's own drill section, if any.
Level II facilities must develop and comply with a written evacuation plan approved by the local fire marshal.
Authority: Local fire marshal
Written incident and accident reports are kept on file at the facility for three years.
A Level II facility must develop and comply with a written evacuation plan approved by the local fire marshal.
20 CAR § 411-1404(a)(3)The facility must have written policies and procedures for relocating residents in emergencies, such as natural disasters or utility outages.
DHS OLTC ALF Level II Rules §504.1(k); ALF Level I Rules §504.1 (R. 01/01/2024)All staff receive orientation within 7 days on building safety and emergency measures, including safe operation of fire extinguishers and evacuation of residents from the building, and on appropriate response to emergencies.
DHS OLTC ALF Level I and Level II Rules §504.4(a)(1) (R. 01/01/2024)New Level I facilities must have heating and air conditioning capable of maintaining any temperature between 68 and 80 degrees at any time of year, with an individual thermostat in each unit.
20 CAR § 410-1606(f)- Arkansas licenses Assisted Living Facility Level I (20 CAR pt. 410) and Level II (20 CAR pt. 411) separately. The local fire marshal's approval of the evacuation plan is a Level II rule.
- drills — Open the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code as adopted by the State Fire Marshal and read the §405 drill requirements for the facility's occupancy (Level II new construction is IBC Group I-2 under 20 CAR § 411-1404(a)(2)), and the licensing rule's own drill section, if any.
Reviewed 2026-09-28
What this page is
The requirements Arkansas places on a facility emergency preparedness plan, taken from the state’s own rules rather than a national template. Where we have confirmed something against primary text it is stated plainly; where we have not, it says so and names what to check. Nothing here is inferred from what other states do.
The part that is the same everywhere
The federal layer does not vary by state, and it is narrower than it is usually described. OSHA 29 CFR §1910.38 does not bind every employer on its own — by its applicability paragraph it governs an emergency action plan whenever another OSHA standard requires the employer to have one, and it then settles what that plan must contain. The CMS emergency preparedness rule applies by certified provider type rather than by building. That layer, plus the exit-route, alarm and first-aid rules and the fire code’s plan structure, is covered in the main crash course rather than repeated on all fifty state pages.
Write the plan
The Emergency Plan Builder produces the document itself. It reads the same research as this page, but it does not yet carry every requirement here into the plan it writes, so check the plan against this page before you rely on it for Arkansas. The Compliance Calendar puts the drills and inspections on dates.