Create an Evacuation Map for Your Senior Care Facility
Built for assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, independent senior living, CCRCs, and adult day programs. Upload your floor plan and our AI produces a posting-ready evacuation map draft that reflects how senior care actually evacuates — relocating residents horizontally past a smoke barrier (defend-in-place) before any full building egress. It marks smoke compartments, areas of refuge, evacuation-chair caches at exit stairs, accessible routes, nurse stations, an oxygen/medical-gas storage callout, a You Are Here marker, and building/floor identification. Treat the output as an OSHA-aligned draft; final local/employer review may be required.
Related guides: hospital evacuation plan, healthcare clinic evacuation maps, free evacuation map maker, fire marshal map correction.
No credit card. Snap a photo of the floor plan — that works too.
Need an evacuation map built for residents with limited mobility?
Upload your floor plan and OSHAMap generates an evacuation map draft with smoke compartments, areas of refuge, accessible routes, and evacuation-chair locations for assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.
Built for assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, CCRCs, and adult day programs.
Six Senior-Care Realities a Generic Map Ignores
Residents who cannot self-evacuate change the entire strategy — your map has to reflect that.
Residents Who Cannot Self-Evacuate
Walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen, bedbound, sedated for procedures. The map has to plan assisted movement, not assume everyone walks out alone.
- Mobility level per wing
- Bariatric-capable route
- One-staff-to-many-residents reality
- Night-shift staffing assumptions
Defend-in-Place & Smoke Compartments
NFPA 101 Ch.18/19 builds the strategy on smoke barriers. Move residents laterally to the next compartment first; full egress is the escalation step.
- Smoke-barrier doors mapped
- Compartment boundaries shown
- Adjacent-compartment refuge
- Primary action labeled clearly
Memory Care & Secured Egress
Dementia units use access-controlled or delayed-egress locks to prevent elopement. Code permits these with safeguards — the map must show release behavior.
- Locks release on alarm
- Staff override / keypad shown
- Wandering-prevention vs egress
- Nearest available exit marked
Evacuation Chairs & Refuge
Stair-descent devices at every exit stair, plus areas of refuge where non-ambulatory residents wait for assisted evacuation.
- Evac-chair cache per stair
- Refuge with accessibility symbol
- Two-way comm device if present
- Accessible route highlighted
Oxygen & Medical-Gas Storage
Supplemental oxygen is everywhere in senior care. Cylinder storage and any piped system need clear callouts and no-ignition zones.
- O₂ storage room callout
- No-smoking / no-ignition zone
- Zone shut-off valves (piped)
- Cylinder securing locations
Nurse Stations & Accountability
Nurse stations become command and headcount points. The map ties room-by-room sweeps and relocation back to the responsible station.
- Station = incident command
- Resident census / sweep tracking
- Relocation & assembly points
- Building / floor identification
Generate Your Senior Care Evacuation Map Now
Upload each floor — exits, accessible routing, and a You Are Here marker placed automatically; add smoke compartments and refuge areas in the editor.
Senior Care Life-Safety Cheat Sheet
Federal OSHA, NFPA 101 occupancy chapters, CMS, and ADA — note that your state and local AHJ control which editions are adopted and enforced.
OSHA & CMS
- §29 CFR 1910.38 — Written Emergency Action Plan with evacuation procedures and route assignments for staff.
- §29 CFR 1910.36 — Design of exit routes: capacity, width, arrangement.
- §29 CFR 1910.37 — Exit routes kept free, unlocked from inside, and properly signed.
- §42 CFR 483.90 — CMS physical environment / Life Safety Code for certified nursing facilities.
- §42 CFR 483.73 — CMS Emergency Preparedness rule (all-hazards plan, training, testing).
- §ADA 2010 Standards — Accessible routes, signage, and areas of refuge.
NFPA + AHJ
- 📕NFPA 101 Ch.18/19 — New / Existing Health Care Occupancies (skilled nursing, defend-in-place, smoke compartments).
- 🏠NFPA 101 Ch.32/33 — New / Existing Residential Board and Care (many assisted living communities).
- 💨NFPA 99 — Health Care Facilities Code (medical-gas systems, where applicable).
- 🧯NFPA 10 — Portable extinguishers (Class A throughout; Class K near kitchens).
- 🚨NFPA 72 — Fire alarm and signaling, including notification appliances.
- 🏛️State licensing + local AHJ — Adopt code editions and add facility-specific rules; their review controls enforcement.
What Our Generator Places for Senior Care
Exits + Accessible Routes
Level, threshold-free accessible routes highlighted as primary; stairs shown as secondary with evacuation-chair caches.
Smoke-Compartment Editor
Mark smoke-barrier doors and compartment boundaries so the map reflects the defend-in-place strategy.
Area-of-Refuge Markers
Place refuge areas with the accessibility symbol; note two-way communication devices where installed.
You Are Here + Building/Floor ID
A single You Are Here anchor plus clear building and floor identification on every posted sheet.
Oxygen Storage Callout
Marks the oxygen / medical-gas storage room and no-ignition zone; staff version can add zone valves.
Nurse-Station Command Points
Identifies nurse stations as accountability/command anchors for room sweeps and relocation.
Evacuation-Chair Locations
Caches marked at the top of each exit stair with a count, so the floor team can find devices fast.
Assembly + Relocation Points
An outdoor assembly point plus an indoor relocation point for residents who should not wait outside in extreme weather.
Five Surveyor Findings Specific to Senior Care
Smoke-barrier door propped or blocked
NFPA 101 Ch.18/19. Doors must self-close and latch; defend-in-place depends on the barrier holding.
Secured memory-care door without alarm release shown
Special locking is permitted with safeguards — the posted map should reflect release behavior and the override location.
No evacuation chair at a resident-used exit stair
Non-ambulatory residents need a stair-descent device staged where the vertical move would occur.
Oxygen storage location not matching the posted plan
Surveyors verify O₂ storage and ignition-source separation against the map.
Map predates a unit remodel or re-licensure
Re-generate after layout changes; an outdated relocation route is worse than none.
If This Sounds Like Your Community…
Assisted Living (Board & Care)
Single-story or low-rise apartments with shared dining. Resident-facing map plus staff version; accessible routes primary; assembly point in the courtyard with an indoor relocation alternate. Confirm Ch.32/33 classification with your AHJ.
Memory Care Unit
Secured/delayed-egress doors that release on alarm, wandering paths designed in, nurse station as command. Map shows release behavior, the override, and the route to the nearest smoke barrier.
Skilled Nursing (SNF)
Health Care Occupancy with defend-in-place: smoke-compartment boundaries, areas of refuge, evac-chair caches, oxygen storage callout. Aligns with your CMS Life Safety Code survey prep.
Independent Senior Living
More ambulatory residents but still mobility-aware. Highlighted accessible routes, clear You Are Here, building/floor ID, and assembly point — readable for residents and visitors.
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
One campus spanning independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing. Generate per-building, per-floor maps with consistent legends and a campus relocation plan between levels of care.
Adult Day Program
Daytime-only care for seniors who may use mobility aids. Accessible routing, a clear assembly point, and a caregiver-driven sweep procedure tied to the sign-in roster.
Get your senior care evacuation map draft — free
Upload a floor plan, book a free expert map review, or grab the free template pack. Treat the output as an OSHA-aligned draft; final local/employer review may be required.
Talk to a Senior-Care Compliance Specialist
For multi-building CCRC campuses, memory-care secured-egress reviews, or CMS Life Safety Code survey prep — book time with our team.
Assisted Living & Nursing Home Evacuation Map — FAQ
Why is a senior care evacuation map different from a regular office or apartment map?
A standard office map assumes everyone can walk to the nearest exit and self-evacuate in minutes. Assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing populations cannot. Residents may use walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen, or be bedbound; many have cognitive impairment that makes following directional arrows ineffective. That changes the entire strategy: instead of immediate full egress, the plan usually starts with relocating residents horizontally past a smoke barrier into an adjacent smoke compartment (defend-in-place), then evacuating the building only if conditions require it. The map therefore has to show smoke-compartment boundaries, areas of refuge, evacuation-chair caches at exit stairs, the nurse station that coordinates the move, and resident-room-to-refuge routes — not just a single exit arrow.
What life-safety codes and standards actually apply to my facility?
It depends on how your facility is classified and licensed. Skilled nursing and many nursing facilities are typically regulated as a Health Care Occupancy (NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Chapters 18/19) and, when Medicare/Medicaid-certified, under the CMS Life Safety Code requirements at 42 CFR 483.90 plus the CMS Emergency Preparedness rule. Assisted living and many board-and-care communities are commonly regulated as a Residential Board and Care Occupancy (NFPA 101 Chapters 32/33), with the small-vs-large facility distinction driving requirements. On top of that, federal OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 requires a written Emergency Action Plan for staff, 1910.36/1910.37 cover exit-route design and maintenance, and ADA covers accessible routes. State licensing agencies adopt their own editions and add facility-specific rules. Because adoption and enforcement are controlled by your state and local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), confirm your exact occupancy classification and adopted code edition with them before posting anything.
What does "defend in place" mean and should it be on the posted map?
Defend-in-place (also called protect-in-place) is the recognized strategy for health-care occupancies where moving fragile residents can be more dangerous than the fire itself. NFPA 101 Chapters 18/19 are built around compartmentation: the building is divided into smoke compartments separated by rated smoke barriers with self-closing or auto-closing smoke doors. In a fire, staff move residents from the affected compartment laterally through the smoke barrier into the adjacent compartment, which acts as an area of refuge, rather than rushing everyone out of the building. Yes — the posted map should make this explicit. A good senior-care map labels the primary staff action as "Relocate residents past the nearest smoke barrier to the adjacent compartment" instead of simply "Exit the building," and only shows full building egress as the escalation step.
How do we map memory care units that use secured or delayed-egress locks?
Memory care and dementia units routinely use access-controlled or delayed-egress hardware to prevent wandering/elopement, and NFPA 101 permits special locking arrangements in health-care occupancies when clinical needs justify them and specific safeguards are met (such as release on fire-alarm activation, sprinkler waterflow, and power loss, plus staff override). Your map should clearly show every secured door, note that it releases automatically on alarm, and identify the staff-accessible release/keypad and the nearest available exit or smoke barrier. The egress strategy still has to work the instant the locks release. Because secured-egress provisions are scrutinized heavily by surveyors and the AHJ, have your locking arrangement and the corresponding map reviewed locally — this is one of the most commonly cited items in dementia-unit inspections.
Where should evacuation chairs, areas of refuge, and accessible routes appear?
Evacuation chairs (stair-descent devices such as evac chairs or rescue sleds) belong at the top of every exit stair that residents would be moved down during a vertical evacuation — the map should mark each cache and its quantity. Areas of refuge are smoke-protected spaces where a resident who cannot use stairs can wait for assisted evacuation; mark each with the accessibility symbol and the two-way communication device if one is installed. Accessible routes are the level, wide, threshold-free paths that are the primary egress for wheelchair and walker users — these should be the highlighted route on the map, with stairs shown as secondary. Showing all three together gives the floor team a single picture of how a non-ambulatory resident actually gets to safety.
How do we handle oxygen and medical-gas storage on the map?
Many senior-care residents are on supplemental oxygen, so facilities store oxygen cylinders and sometimes have piped medical-gas systems. Oxygen accelerates combustion, so codes (including NFPA 99 where it applies and the storage provisions referenced by NFPA 101) set separation, signage, and quantity expectations for cylinder storage rooms. Your map should mark the oxygen/medical-gas storage room with a clear callout, show "No Smoking / No Ignition Sources" zones, and — where a piped system exists — identify any zone shut-off valves. During an incident, staff need to find and secure these locations fast, and surveyors frequently check that the storage location on the posted plan matches reality.
What goes on the map besides exits and routes?
For a senior care facility the posted plan should orient and coordinate, not just point to a door. Include a "You Are Here" marker, a clear building and floor identification (Building B, 2nd Floor), the resident-room and corridor layout, nurse stations (which serve as command and accountability points), smoke-compartment boundaries and the smoke-barrier doors, areas of refuge, exit stairs with evacuation-chair locations, fire alarm pull stations and extinguishers, the oxygen storage callout, and the outdoor assembly point plus an indoor relocation point for residents who should not wait outside in extreme weather. A staff version can add detail (med-gas valves, generator, electrical) while the resident- and visitor-facing version stays clean and readable.
Does this tool make our facility automatically compliant?
No — and any tool that promises automatic or guaranteed compliance should be treated with caution. OSHAMap produces an OSHA-aligned evacuation map draft that follows recognized layout conventions and helps you show smoke compartments, refuge areas, accessible routes, and resident-relocation strategy. Final compliance always depends on your specific occupancy classification, the code edition your state and local AHJ have adopted, your facility’s own review, and a qualified professional’s sign-off. Treat the output as an OSHA-aligned draft; final local/employer review may be required. For certified skilled-nursing facilities in particular, your Life Safety Code survey and emergency-preparedness program are evaluated by CMS and your state survey agency, so loop in your safety/compliance leadership and your fire marshal before posting.
Senior Care Evacuation Map: The Full Implementation Playbook
Assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, independent living, CCRC, and adult day program. The map ties together your occupancy classification, NFPA 101, CMS (for certified facilities), ADA, and your state licensing rules — with the local AHJ as the final word.
Confirm your occupancy classification first
Skilled nursing is commonly a Health Care Occupancy (NFPA 101 Ch.18/19); many assisted living and board-and-care communities fall under Residential Board and Care (Ch.32/33). Classification drives sprinkler, alarm, compartmentation, and egress expectations — verify yours with the AHJ before drafting.
Decide defend-in-place vs full evacuation
For non-ambulatory residents, the immediate response is usually horizontal relocation past the nearest smoke barrier to the adjacent compartment, not full building egress. The map labels the primary action accordingly and shows escalation only when conditions require.
Make accessible routes the primary route
Most residents use wheelchairs, walkers, or assistance. The level, threshold-free, wide-enough route IS the primary egress. Stairs are secondary, paired with evacuation chairs.
Plan secured memory-care egress
Document delayed-egress / access-controlled hardware, confirm it releases on alarm, sprinkler waterflow, and power loss, and show the staff override on the map. The egress plan must work the instant locks release.
Locate oxygen and medical-gas storage
Mark cylinder storage, no-ignition zones, and any piped zone shut-off valves. Keep the posted location consistent with reality — surveyors check this.
Stage evacuation chairs and refuge areas
Place a stair-descent device at the top of each resident-used exit stair and identify areas of refuge with the accessibility symbol and any two-way comm device.
Anchor accountability to nurse stations
Use nurse stations as command and headcount points. Tie room-by-room sweeps and the resident census to the responsible station, and add building/floor identification.
Drill, document, and route to the AHJ
Train staff per OSHA 1910.38(e) and your CMS emergency-preparedness program, run drills, capture after-action notes, and have your fire marshal / state surveyor review the posted plan.
Standards Deep-Dive: Senior Care
Defend-in-Place & Horizontal Evacuation Strategy
In a Health Care Occupancy, the building is divided into smoke compartments separated by rated smoke barriers with self-closing or automatic-closing smoke doors. The first move in a fire is usually to relocate residents from the affected compartment laterally through the smoke barrier into the adjacent compartment, which functions as an area of refuge. Full building (vertical) evacuation is the escalation step, used when conditions in the compartment become untenable. The posted map should make the order of operations obvious: relocate horizontally first, then escalate.
Each adjacent compartment must have enough refuge capacity for the residents it would receive. The map should show smoke-barrier doors with a clear line and label, the compartment boundaries, and where residents stage within the receiving compartment so the floor team is not improvising during the event.
Resident Movement Categories
- Ambulatory — walks out with directional prompting; cognition may still require escort in memory care.
- Walker / partial-assist — slower egress; may need a staff escort and a clear, wide accessible path.
- Wheelchair — accessible route is mandatory; refuge area if a stair must be descended.
- Bedbound / non-ambulatory — moved on the bed within a compartment, or by evacuation chair / rescue sled for stairs.
- Oxygen-dependent — portable O₂ planned for the move; storage and valves marked on the map.
Memory Care Secured-Egress Notes
Dementia and memory-care units balance two safety goals: preventing elopement and ensuring egress. NFPA 101 permits special locking arrangements in health-care occupancies when clinical needs justify them and safeguards are in place — typically automatic release on fire-alarm activation, sprinkler waterflow, and power loss, plus a staff means of release. The map should show every secured door, indicate that it releases automatically, identify the override/keypad, and route residents to the nearest available exit or smoke barrier. Because surveyors examine secured-egress closely, have the locking arrangement and the corresponding map reviewed by your AHJ.
Oxygen & Medical-Gas Handling
Supplemental oxygen is pervasive in senior care. Whether you store cylinders or operate a piped system, the map should mark the storage room, post no-smoking / no-ignition zones, and (for piped systems) identify zone shut-off valves so staff can secure them during an incident. Keep the posted location accurate after any move or remodel — a mismatch between the plan and the actual storage location is a frequent finding.
Glossary: Senior Care Terms
- Defend-in-Place
- Protecting and relocating residents within the building (often to an adjacent smoke compartment) rather than immediate full evacuation.
- Horizontal Evacuation
- Moving residents laterally on the same floor through a smoke barrier into the next compartment.
- Smoke Compartment
- Area bounded by rated smoke barriers; used as refuge in health-care occupancies.
- Area of Refuge
- Smoke-protected space where a resident who cannot use stairs waits for assisted evacuation.
- Evacuation Chair
- Stair-descent device (evac chair or rescue sled) for moving non-ambulatory residents down stairs.
- Delayed Egress
- Hardware that delays door release for a set period; permitted with safeguards and automatic release.
- SNF
- Skilled Nursing Facility; commonly regulated as a Health Care Occupancy and CMS-certified.
- CCRC
- Continuing Care Retirement Community spanning independent, assisted, and skilled-nursing levels of care.
- Board & Care
- Residential Board and Care occupancy (NFPA 101 Ch.32/33), a common assisted-living classification.
- AHJ
- Authority Having Jurisdiction — the local official who adopts and enforces code.
FAQ Extension: Multi-Building Campuses & CCRCs
A CCRC may have an independent-living tower, an assisted-living wing, and a skilled-nursing center on one campus, each with a different occupancy classification and egress strategy. Generate a separate map per building and per floor with a consistent legend, then add a campus-level relocation plan that shows how residents could move between buildings or to an off-site reception location if an entire structure must be cleared. Keep version control central so an outdated sheet never ends up posted after a remodel or re-licensure.
Senior Care Inspector Casebook
Findings drawn from CMS Life Safety Code surveys, state licensing inspections, and fire-marshal walk-throughs of senior care communities. Use as a pre-survey audit — and confirm specifics with your AHJ.
Smoke-barrier door propped open
NFPA 101 Ch.18/19. Must self-close and latch.
Memory-care lock without alarm-release note
Show automatic release behavior + staff override.
Corridor blocked by med cart or laundry
1910.37(a)(3). Keep relocation paths clear.
Exit door locked from inside
1910.37 + Life Safety. Egress must release without a key.
No evacuation chair at a resident exit stair
Stage a stair-descent device + train staff.
Refuge area too small for receiving compartment
Verify refuge capacity per compartment.
Oxygen storage near an ignition source
Separate per code; mark on the map.
Oxygen room not matching posted plan
Update the map after any move/remodel.
Self-closing door device disabled
Restore closer; defend-in-place depends on it.
Drill log missing a quarter
CMS emergency-preparedness expectation.
Assembly point on the fire lane
NFPA 1 / IFC §503. Relocate.
No indoor relocation point for cold-weather evac
Add a sheltered relocation location.
You Are Here / floor ID missing
Add orientation + building/floor ID.
Extinguisher tag expired
NFPA 10 annual inspection.
Nurse-station accountability role unassigned
Name the headcount/command role in the EAP.
Battery emergency lighting fails test
NFPA 101 §7.9 illumination of egress.
Map predates a unit remodel
Re-generate post-remodel.
Generator transfer-switch room locked
NFPA 110 access.
Visitor/contractor not briefed on plan
Sign-in + orientation to the posted map.
Staff vests / role cards missing
EAP roles unstaffed during the drill.
Senior Care Drill Script (45 minutes)
- T-0:00 Brief charge nurse and unit staff at the nurse station.
- T-0:05 Trigger alarm in a designated resident wing.
- T-0:06 Charge nurse declares: relocate horizontally vs full evacuation.
- T-0:08 Close smoke-barrier doors; confirm self-closers function.
- T-0:10 Sweep resident rooms (knock + announce) per the map.
- T-0:15 Relocate residents past the smoke barrier to the adjacent compartment.
- T-0:25 Stage non-ambulatory residents at refuge / evac-chair locations.
- T-0:30 Headcount and census reconciliation at the nurse station.
- T-0:38 Re-entry / stand-down briefing.
- T-0:45 After-action notes; update the map/EAP and log for survey.
Resident Transport Training Modules
- Resident classification — ambulatory / walker / wheelchair / bedbound / oxygen-dependent.
- Smoke-barrier relocation — moving residents to the adjacent compartment.
- Evacuation-chair / rescue-sled operation on stairs.
- Bed and wheelchair transport through smoke-barrier doors.
- Oxygen during transport — portable supply, valves, securing cylinders.
- Memory-care egress — secured-door release and resident redirection.
- Defend-in-place criteria — when not to move a resident.
- Accountability — nurse-station headcount and census reconciliation.
Posted-Map Element Checklist
| Element | Resident/Visitor map | Staff map |
|---|---|---|
| You Are Here | Yes | Yes |
| Building / floor ID | Yes | Yes |
| Exits + accessible routes | Yes | Yes |
| Smoke-compartment boundaries | Simplified | Detailed |
| Areas of refuge | Yes | Yes |
| Evacuation-chair caches | Optional | Yes |
| Oxygen / med-gas storage | Callout | Valves shown |
| Nurse-station command points | Optional | Yes |
| Assembly + relocation points | Yes | Yes |
| Generator / electrical | No | Yes |
State Licensing Overlays
State agencies license assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing under their own rules and adopt specific editions of NFPA 101. California (Title 22 / RCFE rules), Texas, Florida (with hurricane and emergency-power add-ons), and New York all layer facility-specific egress, drill, staffing, and posting requirements on top of the national codes. Use your state licensing standards and the local AHJ as the controlling authority, with the federal/NFPA stack as the baseline.
How This Page Differs From Our Hospital & Clinic Guides
Acute-care hospitals (see our hospital evacuation plan guide) deal with ORs, ICUs, and large inpatient towers; outpatient clinics and ASCs (see our healthcare clinic evacuation maps) are often Business or Ambulatory Health Care occupancies with same-day patients. This page is purpose-built for long-stay senior care — residents who live in the building, often with cognitive impairment and limited mobility, where the strategy is defend-in-place relocation and the map must show resident-room layouts, secured memory-care egress, evacuation chairs, and refuge areas.
Important Legal Disclaimer
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not approve, endorse, recommend, or certify any commercial products or software. This platform is a compliance assistance tool only and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA or any government agency.
All AI-generated evacuation maps, safety plans, and compliance documents must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a qualified safety professional, fire marshal, licensed engineer, or appropriate authority before being posted, distributed, or used for emergency planning purposes.
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This software does not constitute legal, safety consulting, engineering, or professional advice. Content is for informational purposes only. Users should consult qualified safety professionals and legal counsel for compliance guidance specific to their operations.
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