Excerpt from an article that appeared on 9News.com by Kevin Vaughan on June 7, 2018.

KUSA — An Arvada home for adults with disabilities where three people died in a 2016 fire was a firefighter’s nightmare of blocked exits, missing smoke alarms and barred windows, a 9Wants to Know investigation found.

But because the structure was designated as a “host home” – where as many as three adults with disabilities can live with their caregivers – Colorado law doesn’t require that it be subjected to fire inspections or impose other rigorous fire-safety standards, such as alarm systems. It’s meant to be treated like a single family home – not an institution.

At the time of the fire, the home was owned by Scott Parker and was operated by his company, Parker Personal Care Homes. He declined 9NEWS’ requests for an interview and declined to answer specific written questions. Instead, he issued a statement, reading, in part:

Because it was a single family home and not a group home, there were no legal requirements to provide fire alarm/monitoring systems or to allow outside fire inspections.

Host home providers are required to comply with local, state and federal rules and regulations, as well as PPCH policies. Providers are required to conduct regular fire drills and ensure that all smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in the home are functional. PPCH provides care providers with training and its supervisors regularly monitor host home for compliance and overall safety. PPCH would not have tolerated any known unsafe or non-compliant conditions or practices.

After 9Wants to Know again asked him to address specific issues in the home, Parker issued a second statement:

Our entire organization was devastated by the tragic incident in 2016. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our clients, and we remain committed to providing rigorous monitoring of all our homes to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and the overall safety of the clients. Among other things, our “safety-first” culture includes the training of caregivers regarding emergencies of various types and requires that all host homes feature functional fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and evacuation drills.

State Rep. Dan Pabon, a Denver Democrat, called the Robb Street fire “the worst confluence of events that we could imagine” and said he believes legislation should be considered that would impose much more rigorous fire-safety standards on host homes.

“We need to make sure that the safety protections are in place and that these kinds of tragedies are prevented,” he said. “I think there’s plenty of us who are concerned about, again, not only recognizing the extreme grief associated with this situation but making sure that it never happens again.

“If we can put some safeguards and accountability in place, that’s the role of the state when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable populations.”

Read the full article here: 9News.com