DPH Fire and Life Safety is a Division of Health Facilities Oversight in Healthcare Quality. Our inspectors are certified as Fire Marshals by the South Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal, International Codes Council, and the National Fire Protection Agency. The purpose of our inspections is to ensure that licensed facilities operate in a safe manner and comply with all applicable DPH Regulations, SC Fire Codes and NFPA Standards, as well as those facilities that must also comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Regulations.

The Division conducts periodic fire and life safety surveys of over 1200 DPH Licensed facilities to ensure continued compliance with appropriate codes, standards and regulations. The authority to do this comes from the South Carolina Legislature. Some health care facility types such as doctors’ offices and clinics are not licensed by S.C. DPH and thus are not inspected by us.

Every year healthcare facilities experience a growing number of fire-related emergencies. There can be many causes for the fires, however, most are due to a lack of knowledge about fire safety and prevention. It is our mission through oversight, inspection, and education to help reduce these emergencies and prevent the loss of life and property at health care facilities.

Regulations for the facilities that DPH licenses may be found on the S.C. Healthcare Regulations page.