Smoke detector requirements

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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	April, 2005	Return to newsletter index

We all know smoke detectors save lives. What many people don't know is where the codes require smoke detectors to be installed. If you were building a new home, the building code would require you to place a smoke detector in each sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and on each additional story of the dwelling, including basements but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics. The City of Saco also requires that a smoke or heat detector be placed in each attached garage.

Here's a picture of a typical layout for smoke detectors in a single family home:

All new smoke detectors must be powered by the ac current with a battery back-up and cannot be set on it's own circuit breaker or have a switching mechanism that can turn the smoke detectors off. All smoke detectors must be interconnected so that if one goes off, they all go off and they all must bear a UL listing.

But most of us live in homes that were built prior to the adoption of these codes. What does the code require for the rest of us? Believe it or not, the code is the same for old and new housing except for the fact that the smoke detectors can be powered by battery only and need not be interconnected with all the other smoke detectors in the house until such time as renovations are done where the walls are opened up and wiring can be run to power and interconnect these detectors.

The Saco Fire Department and the Codes Office remind you that when you set your clocks ahead and back, you should change the batteries in your smoke detectors. If you hear a constant chirping from your smoke detector, chances are good that the batteries need to be changed or the smoke detector is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced.

If you need more information on how and where to install smoke detectors, please contact us and we would be pleased to assist you in this task. Smoke detectors have come a long way since their initial introduction and are very inexpensive to purchase and install. The peace of mind that these little sentinels give you are well worth the investment.