During a visit to a nursing home, an Ombudsman discovered that the facility staff had placed padlocks on the outside patio gates.  The facility staff stated the reason for the locks was to keep the dementia residents from wandering away.  Due to fire safety and evacuation purposes, it is a violation of state regulations to lock outside gates without the proper fire clearance and permits.  The Ombudsman alerted the fire marshal who quickly arrived at the facility and corrected the problem.