Emergency plan rules in Wyoming
2 license types researched, regulated by Wyoming Department of Health — Healthcare Licensing and Surveys. Every requirement below carries the rule that imposes it.
Assisted living / residential care
Licensed in Wyoming as Assisted Living Facility, by Wyoming Department of Health — Healthcare Licensing and Surveys.
WDH rules ch. 12, Program Administration of Assisted Living Facilities (eff. August 24, 2020), §7(o) (emergency plans, staff training, fire exit drills); ch. 4, Licensure of Assisted Living Facilities (eff. June 28, 2001)
Fire exit drills at least twelve times a year, monthly, with at least one drill each quarter on each shift, following the Life Safety Code operating features.
Fire exit drill records for a two-year period must be available at the facility.
The facility must have detailed written plans and procedures to meet all potential emergencies and disasters, such as fire, severe weather and missing residents. A copy of the plans must be available in the facility at all times.
WDH ch. 12 §7(o)(ii)All employees must be trained in the emergency procedures, and new staff within the first week of employment. The procedures are reviewed with all staff at least every 12 months, and a training record is kept in each personnel file.
WDH ch. 12 §7(o)(ii)Each resident is instructed in the fire plan on the first day of admission, and the instruction is documented in the resident's file.
WDH ch. 12 §7(o)(iii)A facility with nine or more residents must meet an evacuation capability rating of prompt or slow. A facility with eight or fewer residents must meet prompt.
WDH ch. 12 §7(o)(i)Floor diagrams showing exits and evacuation routes are posted in conspicuous places, and emergency contact numbers are posted near all telephones.
WDH ch. 12 §7(o)Reports of all incidents affecting the health, welfare or safety of a resident must be provided to the Licensing Division immediately (within one business day).
WDH ch. 12 §7The facility must have enough food on hand to meet at least one week's menu.
WDH ch. 12 §7A secure dementia unit requires a Level 2 assisted living license. At least one staff member with specialized dementia training must be on the unit at all times, including to assist residents in evacuating the facility. Staff must have at least 12 hours of dementia-care continuing education each year.
WDH ch. 12 §10- Wyoming's assisted living rules are split across two chapters adopted 19 years apart — licensure in ch. 4 (2001) and program administration in ch. 12 (2020). Check both; the older chapter has not been folded into the newer one.
- Wyoming chapter numbers are per program, not unique: ch. 12 is both Assisted Living program administration and Hospital licensure. Cite the chapter title with the number.
- Boarding homes are licensed separately (licensure ch. 7, program administration ch. 8) and have their own emergency requirements. The two licenses are not interchangeable.
Reviewed 2026-09-28
Group home / residential care home
Licensed in Wyoming as Boarding Home, by Wyoming Department of Health — Healthcare Licensing and Surveys.
WDH rules ch. 8, Program Administration for Boarding Homes (eff. December 11, 1998): §14(b)(i) (emergency plans and training), §14(c) (evacuation plan and drills), §5(f)(iii) (72-hour notice), §10(e) (food)
A simulated drill every month, at irregular hours, with all residents taking part. A written record of each drill is kept on file.
Wyoming requires detailed written plans and procedures to meet all potential emergencies and disasters, such as fire, severe weather and missing residents.
WDH ch. 8 §14(b)(i)(A)All employees are trained in emergency procedures when they begin work at the facility, and the procedures are reviewed with existing staff at least once in each 12-month period.
WDH ch. 8 §14(b)(i)(B)The evacuation plan is posted conspicuously. Each new resident is walked through the whole evacuation procedure, including all exits, on the first day.
WDH ch. 8 §14(c)(iii)(A), (C)The boarding home must notify the Program Division within 72 hours of an unusual death, serious injury or accident, fire or other emergency situation.
WDH ch. 8 §5(f)(iii)The boarding home must have enough food on hand to meet at least a week's menus.
WDH ch. 8 §10(e)Reviewed 2026-09-28
What this page is
The requirements Wyoming 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 Wyoming. The Compliance Calendar puts the drills and inspections on dates.