Tennessee § 68-102-137 - Public and private schools — Institutions — Fire drills — Doors to be kept unlocked — Safety drills.

§ 68-102-137. Public and private schools — Institutions — Fire drills — Doors to be kept unlocked — Safety drills.

It is the duty of the commissioner, or the commissioner's deputies and assistants, to require fire drills in educational and institutional occupancies. Fire drills requiring full evacuation in educational occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building shall be held at least one (1) time every thirty (30) school days, with two (2) fire drills occurring during the first thirty (30) full days of the school year. Additionally, four (4) fire safety educational announcements will be conducted throughout the year. The LEA will develop the content of the educational announcements. Fire drills requiring full evacuation shall be held at least once every two (2) months in institutional occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building. A record of all fire drills, including the time and date, shall be kept in the respective school or institutional offices, and shall be made available upon request to the state fire marshal, or the state fire marshal's deputies or assistants, for inspection and review. In educational occupancies, fire drills shall include complete evacuation of all persons from the building. In institutional occupancies, fire drills shall be conducted to familiarize operating personnel with their assigned position of emergency duty. Complete evacuation of occupants from the building at the time of the fire drill shall be required only where it is practicable and does not involve moving or disturbing persons under medical care. The state fire marshal, or the state fire marshal's deputies and assistants, shall avail themselves for the training of owners, tenants or their employees in methods of fire drills, to ensure the efficient and safe use of exit facilities in buildings and to prevent panic and in the coordination of the drills with fire alarm systems. All doors serving as an exit shall be kept unlocked during the periods that a building is occupied. In addition to the fire drills required by this section in educational occupancies, safety drills not requiring full evacuation of all persons from the building shall be conducted at least three (3) times during each school year. A record of all safety drills, including the time and date, shall be kept in the respective school offices, and shall be made available upon request to the state fire marshal, or the state fire marshal's deputies or assistants for inspection and review. Acts 1915, ch. 131, § 14; Shan., § 3079a295; impl. am. Acts 1923, ch. 7, § 55; Code 1932, § 5712; Acts 1951, ch. 154, § 1; 1951, ch. 187, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1967, ch. 136; impl. am. Acts 1968, ch. 548; 1969, ch. 157, § 7; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), §§ 53-2437, 68-17-137; Acts 1999, ch. 465, §§ 1, 2; 2017, ch. 451, § 1. Compiler's Notes. Acts 1999, ch. 465, § 3 provided that the amendment by that act apply at the beginning of the 1999-2000 school year. Former title 68, ch. 17, §§ 68-17-101 — 68-17-152 , was transferred to title 68, ch. 102, §§ 68-102-101 — 68-102-152 , respectively, in 1992. Amendments. The 2017 amendment, in (b), substituted the present first three sentences for the former first sentence, which read: “Fire drills requiring full evacuation shall be held at least once a month during the school year, with an additional fire drill to be conducted within the first thirty (30) days of operation in educational occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building, and at least once every two (2) months in institutional occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building.” Effective Dates. Acts 2017, ch 451, § 2. May 25, 2017. Cross-References. Fire drills in schools, § 49-5-201 .