Life safety in correctional facilities was first recognized as a special hazard in the Building Exits Code, first published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in 1927. This code provided specific explanatory notes on control of ignition sources, including smoking, and provisions of suitable smoking rooms. In 1966, the first edition of what is now known as the NFPA Life Safety Code, NFPA 101, was published. The only noticeable change from the former Building Exits Code was a requirement for separation of hazardous areas. The 1985 Life Safety Code divided the requirements for detention and correctional occupancies into two chapters, one for new correctional facilities and the other for existing correctional facilities. Since the first detention and correctional facilities were referenced in specific chapters in the Life Safety Code, a number of the requirements have been changed or updated as the knowledge of both correctional facility operations and the properties of fire has increased. This article describes 15 of the most notable changes from the 1985 code through the 1991 code. The article then discusses standards for ignition control, the control of fuel load and flammability of products, and the control of the products of combustion.