Harrisburg, PA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Section 3-903.14 of the Harrisburg Codified Ordinances covers every child day-care facility, new or existing, and requires compliance with Chapter 3-903 and the educational occupancy provisions of the NFPA Life Safety Code. In a facility that houses more than one age group, the requirements for the younger age apply unless the younger group is kept in a separate fire area. The occupant load used to size exits is the maximum number of persons intended to occupy the floor, but not less than one person for each 35 square feet of net floor area used.

The staff ratio table prints 1:3 for ages 0 to 2, 1:5 for 2 to 3, 1:10 for 3 to 5, 1:12 for 5 to 7 and 1:15 for 7 and over. No center, occupancy or home can have children more than two stories above the level of exit discharge or one story below it. Every facility needs two remote exits, one discharging directly outside with vertical travel to ground level of not more than eight feet, plus illuminated means of egress and automatic emergency lighting.

Door and sleeping rules are specific. Every closet door latch must let children open the door from the inside, and every bathroom door lock must be openable from the outside in an emergency. Every room used for sleeping, living or dining needs at least two means of escape, one a doorway or stairway to the outside at street or ground level and the other possibly a window. Storage rooms for combustibles and fuel need construction with not less than a one-hour fire rating. Subsection K requires a smoke detection system in lounges, recreation areas and sleeping rooms, with § 3-903.12 controlling in a private residence. Operators must hold fire drills at least once a month and keep a record available to the Fire Chief on request. The Fire Code fee schedule in § 3-901.5 lists $150 per year for a Class A center of 13 or more persons, $100 for Class B (6 to 12 persons) and $65 for Class C home day care (1 to 5 persons).