Lawrence, KS Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Sec. 8-238 amends the International Fire Code by adding Appendix K, applied to every newly established or existing licensed and group day care facility within the City of Lawrence when the state fire marshal's office does not otherwise provide the inspection. Appendix K defines group day care as care for no more than 12 children under 16 and licensed day care as care for no more than ten children under 16. The appendix sets concrete safety standards for the home: every escape corridor and exit door must stay clear and operable, and any exit path passing a basement stairway needs a door or gate to keep children out of the basement.

Bathroom doors must be unlockable from the outside with the key or device kept accessible to staff. Facilities licensed on or after May 1, 1998 that use a basement need at least two exits to the outside, one a direct door, with a third exit required if the two are within ten feet of each other, and residential day care is not allowed on the second floor of the home at all. A 2A:10B:C portable fire extinguisher must be mounted 15 to 48 inches off the floor and inspected annually by a state-licensed servicer.

Smoke detectors are required on every level and in every child's sleeping room, tested monthly, with batteries changed every six months and standard units replaced within ten years of manufacture. Monthly fire and tornado drills must be documented and posted in plain view at the day care, and appeals from a code official's decision go to the board of appeals within 30 days under Sec. 8-239.