Chapter 15.30
SMOKE DETECTORS
Sections:
15.30.020 Location of smoke detectors.
15.30.030 Certification at change in occupancy.
15.30.040 Mobile home smoke detectors.
15.30.060 Operation of other than AC current units.
15.30.080 Electrical permit and information data.
15.30.010 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following mean:
(A) “Approved smoke detector” means a detection device for the products of combustion other than heat which conforms to the Uniform Building Code Standard No. 43-6 or its successor standard and is listed by the Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual, Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, or any other recognized testing laboratory.
(B) “Apartment house” means a building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or which is occupied as the home or residence for three or more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in the building, and shall include buildings containing three or more flats or apartments.
(C) “Dwelling” means a building, or any portion thereof, which is not an apartment house, lodging house, or a hotel as defined in this section, which contains one or two dwelling units or guest rooms used, intended or designed to be built, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for living purposes.
(D) “Dwelling unit” means a single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.
(E) “Hotel” means a building containing six or more guest rooms intended or designed to be used, or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests.
(F) “Lodging house” means a building, or portion thereof, containing not more than five guest rooms, which are used by not more than five guests, where rent is paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise.
(G) “Mobile home” means a structure transportable in one or more sections, each built on a permanent chassis, and which is designed to be used for human occupancy as a dwelling. [Code 2000 § 8.205.]
15.30.020 Location of smoke detectors.
(A) All smoke detectors required by this code shall be mounted on a ceiling or wall. If wall mounted they shall be within 12 inches of but not closer than six inches to the ceiling. They shall be located in any corridor or interior area giving access to rooms used for sleeping purposes.
(B) Where sleeping areas are widely separated (i.e., on different levels or opposite ends of the structure) and/or where a single smoke detector will not adequately service all sleeping areas, there shall be a smoke detector installed adjacent to each sleeping area.
(C) Every dwelling unit within an apartment house and every guest room in a hotel used for sleeping purposes shall be provided with smoke detectors conforming to U.B.C. Standard No. 43-6. In dwelling units, detectors shall be mounted on the ceiling or wall at a point centrally located in the corridor or area giving access to rooms used for sleeping purposes. In any efficiency dwelling unit, hotel sleeping rooms and in hotel suites, the detector shall be centrally located on the ceiling of the main room or hotel sleeping room. Wall mounted detectors shall be located between six and 12 inches of the ceiling. Where sleeping rooms are on an upper level, the detector shall be placed at the center of the ceiling directly above the stairway. Care shall be exercised to ensure that the installation will not interfere with the operation characteristics of the detector. When actuated, the detector shall provide an alarm in the dwelling unit or guest room. [Code 2000 § 8.210.]
15.30.030 Certification at change in occupancy.
(A) At every change of occupancy of an owner-occupied dwelling unit occasioned by or incidental to sale, it shall be the duty of the seller to certify to the buyer that all smoke detectors as required by this code or other applicable laws are installed and in proper working condition. This duty shall be performed and certified by both parties before completion of the sale or occupancy of the new owner.
(B) At every change of occupancy occasioned by or incidental to the rental, lease or sublease of a dwelling unit, except hotels and lodging houses, it shall be the duty of the grantor, lessor or sublessor, as the case may be, to certify before occupancy to the new occupant that all smoke detectors as required by this code or other applicable laws are installed and in proper working condition.
(C) It shall be the responsibility of the owner, or his duly appointed agent, of hotels and lodging houses to test and maintain as per manufacturer’s instructions, those smoke detectors within each guest room, efficiency unit or sleeping room on a regular monthly basis. Tests and maintenance shall be documented with data being made available for fire department inspection at any time.
(D) It shall be the responsibility of the owner of all occupancies occasioned by or incidental to rent, lease or sublease to comply with the code.
(E) Nothing herein shall be construed to vitiate or render void any contract, lease or sublease subject to this code. [Code 2000 § 8.215.]
15.30.040 Mobile home smoke detectors.
Prior to the placement, location or relocation of a mobile home on real property in the city for purposes of human occupancy, it shall be the responsibility of the owner or occupier of the mobile home to install a smoke detector in the unit and thereafter maintain the detector during the period of occupancy. The requirements of this section are in addition to those contained in CMC 15.30.030. [Code 2000 § 8.220.]
15.30.050 Responsibility.
(A) The owner shall be responsible for supplying the smoke detector and the maintenance instruction required by subsection (C) of this section, and the tenant shall be responsible for maintaining the smoke detector on a monthly basis.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person other than the owner, his authorized agent, member of the fire department or building division, except in case of fire, to remove or tamper with fire extinguishers, fire escapes, fire hoses, nozzles, or other fire control or fire extinguishing equipment, or fire reporting equipment, including smoke detector systems, in or about any building or other premises in the city.
(C) It shall be the responsibility of the owner or his authorized agent to supply a copy of the manufacturer’s maintenance, testing and cleaning instructions to each tenant. [Code 2000 § 8.225.]
15.30.060 Operation of other than AC current units.
Smoke detection systems may operate on approved power supplies other than an AC primary source when approved by the fire prevention bureau. Smoke detectors other than AC primary source may be powered by self-monitored battery or operated in a plug-in outlet which is fitted with a plug restrainer device, provided the outlet is not controlled by any switch other than the main power source. [Code 2000 § 8.230.]
15.30.070 Remodeling.
The owner of any occupancy must install approved smoke detectors in accordance with this code as a condition to receiving a building permit for any significant remodeling, alterations or other construction to the interior living areas of an occupancy. For the purpose of this section, any remodeling, alterations, additions or other construction to the interior living areas of an occupancy shall be considered significant if the total cost is in excess of $1,000. [Code 2000 § 8.235.]
15.30.080 Electrical permit and information data.
(A) In all residential occupancies, a nonfee, noninspection informational form shall be completed for the fire department for the purpose of obtaining copies of the testing and maintenance instructions, compilation of a list of complying occupancies and use in cross-referencing data with other prevention activities.
(B) The installation of all wired-in smoke detectors in all occupancy groups will require electrical permits and inspections by the state.
(C) After January 1, 1980, regular electrical permit fees will be required for the installation of all wired-in smoke detectors. [Code 2000 § 8.240.]
15.30.090 Enforcement.
It shall be the duty of the fire department to inspect, on an annual basis, random samples of the occupancies listed in this code to ascertain compliance with this code. It shall be the duty of the fire department to inspect those smoke detector units identified through a complaint to the fire department. The discovery of electrical problems or malfunctions will be reported to the building department. [Code 2000 § 8.245.]