Daycare Fire Guide

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is for owners and directors of licensed child care centers in North Carolina, church-based preschools and weekday programs, and property managers who lease space to a child care tenant. Family child care homes follow a shorter set of rules, covered near the end.

North Carolina licenses a child care center when it cares for three or more preschool-age children, or nine or more school-age children (G.S. 110-86). The fire code then puts most centers into one of two day care groups:

Group E: more than five children older than 2½ years.
Group I-4: more than five people of any age receiving custodial care. Care for infants and toddlers usually falls here. The exception: if there are 100 or fewer children aged 2½ and under, and every room they use is on the floor with the exit to the outside and has its own door to the outside, the building can stay Group E.

Which group your building is in changes things like sprinklers and where each age group's rooms can be. Your local fire inspector or building official makes that call, so ask before you plan around it.

Your License Requires a Fire Inspection Every 12 Months

North Carolina law requires every licensed child care center to be inspected at least once a year by the local fire department (G.S. 110-91). The state's child care rules set out how that works (10A NCAC 09 .0304):

The next inspection is due within 12 months of the last one. The clock runs from the date of your last fire inspection, not from your license renewal.
Scheduling it is your job. The rule says the operator notifies the local fire inspector when the annual inspection is due. Nobody else will start it for you.
The report goes to the state within a week. After you pass, the original approved inspection report goes to the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education within one week of the visit.
Keep a copy on site for at least three years (10A NCAC 09 .2318).

This is stricter than the fire code's own schedule. The North Carolina Fire Code sets the fire marshal's minimum for educational buildings, which includes a Group E day care, at once every two years. State law for child care centers overrides that and makes it every year.

Church-based programs are not exempt. Religious-sponsored child care is excused from a few licensing requirements (G.S. 110-106), but not from the fire inspection. A new religious-sponsored program must send in a fire inspection within 30 days of opening, and after that it documents compliance every year "using the same forms and in the same manner as for all other centers" (10A NCAC 09 .2101).

The day you pass, put the next due date on the calendar.

How to Request Your Inspection in Raleigh and Wake County

The fire inspection is done by the fire department for the town your center is in, not by a private company.

Inside Raleigh: the Raleigh Fire Department's Office of the Fire Marshal. Its fire inspections page has a Fire Request form with "Daycare Inspection" as an option. You can also call 919-996-6392 or email fireprevention@raleighnc.gov.
Unincorporated Wake County, Rolesville and Wendell: the Wake County Fire Marshal's Office, 919-856-6307.
Cary, Apex, Durham, Chapel Hill, Wake Forest and other towns: each has its own fire prevention office. Call your town's fire department.

Ask a few weeks before the 12-month date, not on it. If the inspection has to be rescheduled, or an item fails and needs a second visit, you still have time inside the window.

Monthly Fire Drills and Quarterly Lockdown Drills

The child care rules require two kinds of drills (10A NCAC 09 .0604):

A fire drill every month. The North Carolina Fire Code also requires monthly drills for all occupants in a Group E building, and monthly on each shift in a Group I-4 building.
A shelter-in-place or lockdown drill at least every three months.

A lockdown drill never counts as your fire drill for the month. The North Carolina Fire Code says lockdown drills "shall not be substituted for fire and evacuation drills" (Section 404.2.3.2).

What to write down. For each fire drill: the date, the time, how long it took to get everyone out of the building, and the signature of the person who ran it (10A NCAC 09 .0302). For each lockdown or shelter drill: the date, the time, how long it took to reach the safe spot, and a signature. Keep drill records at least one year (10A NCAC 09 .2318).

The state's drill log form says drills should happen "at unexpected times and under varying conditions." A drill at nap time, or with one exit treated as blocked, tests what a mid-morning drill does not.

If you care for infants or other children who cannot walk, the center must have an evacuation crib or similar device: on wheels, with a reinforced bottom, and able to fit through the designated fire exit. It has to be used during every fire, lockdown and shelter drill. If the building does not meet the code for an institutional occupancy and an exit is more than eight inches above the ground outside, the center must write a plan for getting the crib out, the state must approve it, and the state will watch the center use it during a drill (10A NCAC 09 .0604).

Your Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan

Every center needs a written Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (10A NCAC 09 .0607):

One trained staff member. At least one person on staff must complete the state's Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care training. A new center has one year from its first license. If that person leaves, someone else must finish the training within four months.
The trained staff member writes the plan. It covers how the center responds to emergencies, and includes evacuation diagrams showing how staff and children get out, plans for children who cannot walk and children with special needs, and emergency phone numbers.
It is reviewed every year. The trained staff member reviews it every year, or sooner when something in it changes. All staff review it at orientation and again every year, and the review is documented.

When you move a classroom, add a room or change an exit, update the evacuation diagram at the same time. The plan has to match the building you have now.

Fire Alarms, Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide

A licensed center needs a manual fire alarm system, even a small one. The fire code normally lets a small Group E building, with 50 occupants or fewer, go without a manual fire alarm system. North Carolina changed that rule so the exemption does not apply to licensed child care centers (North Carolina Fire Code 907.2.3).

The system has to be inspected and tested on the schedule set by NFPA 72, the national fire alarm standard. Our Fire Alarm Guide walks through what that inspection covers. If you are adding or replacing a system, see our post on installing a fire alarm system in a North Carolina daycare.

Carbon monoxide. Existing Group I-4 buildings must have carbon monoxide alarms, and they are allowed to run on batteries alone (North Carolina Fire Code 1103.9). In new buildings, carbon monoxide detection is required in Group I-4 and in Group E classrooms when the building has something that can produce it, such as a fuel-burning appliance or a fireplace (Section 915.1.1).

Fire Extinguishers and Emergency Lighting

Fire extinguishers must be selected, installed and maintained to NFPA 10 (North Carolina Fire Code 906.2), which means professional service every year. The child care rules add one that is easy to miss: every vehicle used to transport children must carry a fire extinguisher (10A NCAC 09 .1003). See our fire extinguisher service page for what the yearly service includes.

Emergency lighting must get an activation test every month: unplug or switch off normal power and confirm the emergency lights come on and stay lit (North Carolina Fire Code 604.6.1). Self-testing units only need a visual check every 30 days. Exit signs must be lit (Section 1013.3), so replace a dead bulb or a failed sign as soon as you see it. See our emergency lighting page.

Space Heaters, Fireplaces and Extension Cords

North Carolina has a day care rule many centers don't know about: "Unvented fuel-burning heaters and portable electric heaters of all types are prohibited" in adult and child day care facilities (North Carolina Fire Code 603.5.3). That includes the small electric heater under a teacher's desk.

The same section allows masonry fireplaces, listed fuel-burning space heaters, fireplaces and floor furnaces only when a protective screen is securely attached. The child care rules add two more:

No extension cords, unless the local fire inspector has approved them (10A NCAC 09 .0604).
Matches and lighters go in locked storage (10A NCAC 09 .0604).

Before You Open, Move or Add a Room

North Carolina's building code has rules about where children can be cared for in a building. They matter most when you are leasing a space, moving, or starting to use a new room:

Infant and toddler rooms: in Group I-4 and home-based (R-3) day care, the rooms where care is given must be on the floor with the exit to the outside, called the level of exit discharge (North Carolina Building Code 429.1.1).
Two exits: Group E and R-4 day care facilities need at least two separate exits, unless every care room is on the level of exit discharge and has its own exit door (429.1.2).
Young children: rooms for children in first grade and younger must be on the level of exit discharge. In August 2025 the Office of State Fire Marshal ruled that rising second graders in summer care count as second graders.
Sprinklers: a Group I-4 day care needs a sprinkler system unless it is on the level of exit discharge and every room where care is given has at least one door to the outside (North Carolina Fire Code 903.2.6).

Talk to your fire inspector or building official before you sign a lease or move a classroom upstairs. Changing a room after you have moved in costs more than choosing the right one at the start.

Family Child Care Homes

A family child care home is a licensed program in the operator's own home, caring for more than two and fewer than 11 children (G.S. 110-86). Homes follow their own rules:

No yearly state fire inspection. The annual fire inspection in state law applies to centers. A home's license application asks for copies of any inspections your local ordinances require, so check with your town.
A fire drill every month, recorded with the date, the time, how long it took to evacuate the home and your signature, and kept for a year.
A lockdown or shelter drill every three months, also recorded.
Smoke detection: an electrically operated smoke detector with battery backup, or one electric and one battery-operated detector next to each other (10A NCAC 09 .1707).
Fire extinguishers: at least one five-pound 2-A:10-B:C extinguisher for every 2,500 square feet of floor area (10A NCAC 09 .1707).

Staying Ready for Your Next Inspection

Before your inspection date, run through this list:

The 12-month due date is on the calendar, and the inspection is requested
The fire drill log has an entry for every month, and the lockdown log for every three months
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan was reviewed this year, and its evacuation diagrams match your rooms
The fire alarm system has been inspected and tested on schedule
Every extinguisher, including the one in each vehicle, has a current service tag
Emergency lights were tested this month, and every exit sign is lit
No portable electric heaters or unapproved extension cords anywhere in the building
Exits and exit paths are clear
Last year's inspection report is on file

If your fire alarm, extinguishers or emergency lights are due, Zgoda Fire can service them before your inspection.

Call (919) 368-7464, or see how we work with schools and child care centers across the Triangle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at chris@zgodafire.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

How often does a daycare need a fire inspection in North Carolina?

A licensed child care center needs a fire inspection by the local fire department at least once a year. The next one is due within 12 months of the last one, and the center is responsible for scheduling it. The approved report goes to the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education within one week.

Who does the fire inspection for a child care center?

The local fire department or fire marshal's office for the town the center is in. In Raleigh, request a Daycare Inspection through the Office of the Fire Marshal. Centers on State property are inspected by an official designated by the Office of State Fire Marshal.

How often do child care centers have to hold fire drills?

Every month, plus a shelter-in-place or lockdown drill at least every three months. A lockdown drill does not count as a fire drill.

What has to be recorded for each fire drill?

The date, the time, how long it took to evacuate the building, and the signature of the person who ran the drill. Keep the records at least one year.

Can a daycare use a space heater in North Carolina?

Not a portable electric heater of any kind, and not an unvented fuel-burning heater. The North Carolina Fire Code prohibits both in child day care facilities.

Does a small daycare need a fire alarm system?

Yes, if it is a licensed child care center. North Carolina removed the small-building exemption for licensed child care centers, so they need a manual fire alarm system regardless of size.

Do church preschools need a fire inspection?

Yes. Religious-sponsored programs are exempt from some licensing requirements, but not the fire inspection. A new program sends in a fire inspection within 30 days of opening and documents compliance every year after that.

Do family child care homes need a fire inspection?

State law does not require a yearly fire inspection for a family child care home the way it does for a center. Homes need any inspections their local ordinances require, plus monthly fire drills, the required smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher.

What areas does Zgoda Fire Protection serve?

Zgoda Fire Protection serves schools, child care centers and other commercial properties throughout the Triangle, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex and Wake Forest, plus surrounding communities.

Daycare Fire Inspection Requirements in North Carolina