Emergency plan rules in Montana
One license type researched, regulated by Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Every requirement below carries the rule that imposes it.
Assisted living / residential care
Licensed in Montana as Assisted Living Facility, by Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
ARM 37.106 subchapter 28 (Assisted Living Facilities): 37.106.2804 (subchapter 28 controls where subchapter 3 conflicts), 37.106.2814(10) (evacuation capability of residents using mechanical assistance), 37.106.2839(3) (temperature), 37.106.2860(7) (food supply), 37.106.2866(7)–(12) (annual fire inspection, fire drills, drill records, extinguishers, smoke detectors); ARM 37.106.322(3) (disaster plan) and 37.106.322(4)(a) (all-facility fire drill rule)
An employee and resident fire drill at least twice a year, no closer than four months apart, including residents, employees and support staff on duty and other individuals in the facility. A resident fire drill includes making a general announcement throughout the facility that a resident fire drill is being conducted, or sounding a fire alarm.
That matches the most common figure across the states we have confirmed.
Fire drill records kept on the premises for 24 months from the date of the drill, showing date and time, the names of employees who took part, and identification of residents needing assistance to evacuate. The annual fire inspection record is kept at least 3 years. The annual smoke-detector maintenance log is kept in the facility. Documentation of the annual disaster-plan review with all staff is kept at the facility at least 3 years (ARM 37.106.322(3)).
An assisted living facility must have an annual fire inspection carried out by the appropriate local fire authority or the State Fire Marshal's office, and keep the record for at least three years.
ARM 37.106.2866(7)Assisted living facilities must develop a written disaster plan and conduct a documented review of it with all facility staff annually. The documentation is kept at the facility for at least three years.
ARM 37.106.322(3)The disaster plan must cover remaining at the facility during and after the disaster, including getting additional blankets, water and food, and resident evacuation with at least one off-site evacuation point. A written agreement for the evacuation point is kept in the facility record and updated annually.
ARM 37.106.322(3)(a)–(b)A minimum of a one-week supply of non-perishable foods and a two-day supply of perishable foods must be available on the premises.
ARM 37.106.2860(7)Temperature in resident rooms, bathrooms and common areas must be maintained at a minimum of 68°F.
ARM 37.106.2839(3)The administrator must ensure and document that a resident who is ambulatory only with mechanical assistance can self-evacuate without an elevator, move past an approved occupancy or smoke barrier, or reach an approved area of refuge.
ARM 37.106.2814(10)Montana's all-facility rule asks that fire drill observations be documented, including problems found, corrective steps and a signature, and kept at least two years. Whether these elements apply to assisted living alongside the subchapter 28 drill record rule is not verified.
ARM 37.106.322(4)(a) — not yet confirmed against primary text- Montana's all-facility rule, ARM 37.106.322(4)(a), requires four fire drills a year with at least one on each shift. For assisted living, ARM 37.106.2804 makes subchapter 28 control where the two conflict, so the drill count here is subchapter 28's two a year (ARM 37.106.2866(8)).
- mandate[6] — Open ARM 37.106.322(4)(a) (DPHHS posting of ARM 37.106 subchapter 3) together with ARM 37.106.2804 and 37.106.2866(9) (DPHHS posting of subchapter 28), and decide whether the 322(4)(a) documentation elements (location, participating staff, problems, corrective steps, signature, two-year retention) conflict with the subchapter 28 record rule or apply to assisted living in addition to it.
Reviewed 2026-09-28
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Everything else we’ve researched about Montana
Same state, the problems either side of this one. Each carries its own statute and the date we last checked it.
- Montana deposit return law & letterThe landlord's deadline to return a deposit, and the itemized letter.
- Montana deposit demand letterFor the tenant: whether the landlord is late, and by how many days.
- Montana deposit deduction rulesWhat may fairly come out of a deposit, prorated by useful life.
- Montana move-in condition reportThe walkthrough record that decides deposit arguments later.
What this page is
The requirements Montana 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 Montana. The Compliance Calendar puts the drills and inspections on dates.