6.__Requirements for children's home with 6 or fewer beds.__ The department may consider a children's home that has 6 or fewer residents, all of whom__can evacuate the home without the assistance of another person in 3 minutes or less, to be in compliance with the one-family and 2-family dwelling requirements of the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association as adopted by the Commissioner of Public Safety.

7.__Local regulations.__Nothing in this section prevents a locality from imposing requirements for children's homes more stringent than those required in this section.

Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2452, 2nd ¶ from the end, as amended by PL 1997, c. 728, §25, is further amended to read:

Existing buildings licensed pursuant to Title 22, subtitle Subtitle 6, having more than 6 boarders, with the exception of boarding care facilities and children's homes, must comply with any rules for residential-custodial care facilities required by the Commissioner of Public Safety, except that such existing facilities of not more than 2 stories in height are not required to be fire resistive, protected or unprotected noncombustible, protected wood frame or heavy timber construction. Such existing facilities must be protected by a complete approved automatic sprinkler system and meet all other requirements of residential- custodial care facilities as required by the Commissioner of Public Safety.

Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2452, as amended by PL 2001, c. 596, Pt. B, §22 and affected by §25, is further amended by inserting at the end a new paragraph to read:

Existing children's homes licensed pursuant to Title 22, Subtitle 6, must comply with the applicable fire safety requirements of the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association adopted by the Commissioner of Public Safety pursuant to Title 22, section 8103.