Emergency plan rules in Maine
One license type researched, regulated by Maine DHHS — Division of Licensing and Certification. Every requirement below carries the rule that imposes it.
Assisted living / residential care
Licensed in Maine as Assisted Living Facility or Residential Care Facility, by Maine DHHS — Division of Licensing and Certification.
10-144 C.M.R. ch. 113, Part A (Assisted Living Facilities) and Part B (Residential Care Facilities), effective September 18, 2025; 22 M.R.S. §7852 (license classes); 22 M.R.S. §7855 (fire safety inspection, Life Safety Code by bed count, and timed drills for residential care facilities)
The drill frequency for Maine assisted living facilities and residential care facilities is not verified. The current rule (10-144 C.M.R. ch. 113, Parts A and B, effective September 18, 2025) was not read. For residential care facilities, 22 M.R.S. §7855(6) requires timed drills under the Life Safety Code to determine evacuation capability but states no drill count.
Open 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 113 Part A (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtA-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) and Part B (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtB-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) and find the fire and evacuation drill section in each: frequency, any sleeping-hours minimum, and timing. The former Level I rule (§144-113-I-13, six drills a year with two while residents are asleep) was repealed and must not be used. Also open the Division-approved Evacuation Drill Log linked from the DHHS Assisted Housing page.
The drill record retention period is not verified. DHHS publishes a Division-approved Evacuation Drill Log for assisted housing.
DHHS may not license a residential care facility until it has received a written statement from the Commissioner of Public Safety that the facility complies with fire safety requirements. A fire safety inspection must be performed and a certificate of compliance provided before licensure.
22 M.R.S. §7855(1), (5)A residential care facility with 1 to 3 beds follows the Life Safety Code chapter for one- and two-family dwellings; 4 to 16 beds, the sections for small board and care facilities; more than 16 beds, the sections for large facilities. A more stringent local regulation takes precedence.
22 M.R.S. §7855(3), (4)Timed drills, as described in the applicable chapters of the NFPA Life Safety Code, are used to determine a residential care facility's capability to evacuate, unless the facility has elected to complete evacuation scores instead. A new resident's timed-drill result from another residential care facility within the previous 2 months may be used for up to 4 months. Failure to comply is a civil violation with a forfeiture of up to $25 per bed for each occurrence.
22 M.R.S. §7855(6) — not yet confirmed against primary text- Maine law defines two classes: an assisted living facility provides private apartments, and a residential care facility provides private or semi-private bedrooms (22 M.R.S. §7852). Confirm which one you hold: the fire safety inspection and timed-drill statute (22 M.R.S. §7855) names residential care facilities only.
- drills — Open 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 113 Part A (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtA-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) and Part B (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtB-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) and find the fire and evacuation drill section in each: frequency, any sleeping-hours minimum, and timing. The former Level I rule (§144-113-I-13, six drills a year with two while residents are asleep) was repealed and must not be used. Also open the Division-approved Evacuation Drill Log linked from the DHHS Assisted Housing page.
- retention — Open 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 113 Part A (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtA-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) and Part B (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtB-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) and find the record-keeping section for drill records and the retention period, and open the Evacuation Drill Log linked from the DHHS Assisted Housing page.
- mandate[2] — The research read 22 M.R.S. §7855(6) on the official statute page but marked it ADVISE: the duty depends on whether the facility has elected evacuation scores in place of timed drills, and the quotations came back as joined fragments. Check the wording word by word at https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/22/title22sec7855.html, and open 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 113 Part B (https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c113PtB-2025-165%20%28RPR%29.docx) for how Part B applies timed drills and evacuation scores.
Reviewed 2026-09-28
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Everything else we’ve researched about Maine
Same state, the problems either side of this one. Each carries its own statute and the date we last checked it.
What this page is
The requirements Maine 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 Maine. The Compliance Calendar puts the drills and inspections on dates.