Legal Requirement for Carbon Monoxide Alarm

The City of Phoenix requires that only battery-powered smoke alarms be replaced with smoke alarms with sealed 10-year-old lithium batteries once existing alarms expire. This amendment only affects existing residential units that are only permitted to have battery-operated smoke alarms, limiting the scope of this regulation to single-family homes and residential units built in the City of Phoenix prior to 1998. Carbon monoxide alarms in existing homes must be wired to a backup battery powered by a 10-year non-replaceable battery or a replaceable battery if the carbon monoxide detector uses a low-power wireless radio communication signal, uses multiple sensors, has a low-frequency notification function, or is connected to a control panel. Carbon monoxide alarms are mandatory in newly built or renovated single-family homes or renovated homes, as well as in new apartment buildings, hotels and motels. These requirements apply only to dwellings containing a carbon appliance or appliance that produces combustion by-products, or an attached garage. Carbon monoxide alarms must be wired to a backup battery, connected to each other and UL approved. New York City law requires the installation and maintenance of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Homeowners and renters have a responsibility to ensure that all New Yorkers in their homes remain protected from the dangers of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning (carbon monoxide is an odorless and highly toxic gas). CO alarms are mandatory in all single-family and multi-family homes in California.

Effective Date: January 2011 (new detached and semi-detached houses and row houses of up to three storeys; July 2011 (all existing single-family homes); January 2013 (all existing apartments) Smoke alarms with 10-year sealed batteries are mandatory in residential and multi-purpose buildings before January 1, 1994. There is no national requirement for residential CO alarms. Learn about state laws that govern carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms in residential buildings, including states where they have not yet been installed. The required smoke detectors must be dual-sensor. Dual-sensor smoke detectors (photoelectric and ionized) and combined smoke and carbon monoxide detectors meet this requirement. Philadelphia: Local law requires that only battery-powered smoke detectors have 10 years of sealed batteries. Single-family and two-family homes built on or after 1. January 1988, and apartment buildings are not affected because these units must be equipped with wired smoke detectors. Carbon monoxide alarms are required in all units that contain a carbon-powered appliance, have an attached garage or are adjacent to a parking lot.

Carbon monoxide alarms must be approved and listed by the state Fire Marshal. Every home must have working smoke detectors and most must also have carbon monoxide detectors. Learn what type you need to have and where they should be placed in your homes. The Code requires CO alarms on every floor of newly constructed single-family and two-family homes. It is important to ensure that your home, business, motorized apartment, or interior spaces comply with regulations and meet your state`s legal requirements. The fire death rate in the United States is one of the highest per capita in the industrialized world. A fire kills about 3,000 people and injures about 20,000 each year. The majority of deaths occur in homes without functioning smoke detectors.

A smoke detector greatly reduces your chances of dying in a fire. Cleveland: All battery-powered smoke alarms should be replaced with battery-powered models 10 years after expiration. The requirement applies to both new and existing homes. Smoke detectors are installed outside each bedroom, in each bedroom and above the stairwells. Mount alarms high on a wall or above the ceiling. Place wall alarms with the top of the alarm 4-12 inches (10-30 centimeters) from the ceiling. Place ceiling-mounted alarms at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) from the nearest wall. In stairwells without doors at the top or bottom, install alarms anywhere along the path that the smoke would take up the stairs. Do not install a smoke detector near a forced-air window, door or damper where drafts could interfere with operations. Moving air can blow smoke away from the alarm sensor. To avoid false alarms, keep smoke detectors at least ten feet away from steaming stoves and showers. In Washington, carbon monoxide alarms will be mandatory in all newly constructed residential buildings starting January 1, 2011.

All other listed residential buildings must be equipped with carbon monoxide alarms by January 1, 2013. Carbon monoxide alarms are mandatory in accommodation establishments (guest houses, bed and breakfasts, etc.) that contain a carbon appliance or an appliance that produces combustion by-products or has an attached garage. In new and existing single-family homes, a photoelectric smoke detector must be installed within 20 feet of a kitchen or full bathroom. Smoke detectors are usually needed in residential environments. Wired smoke detectors are required in all new buildings. Combinations with two or more technologies integrated into a unit must have simulated voice and audible alarm functions that clearly distinguish between two or more events, such as carbon monoxide and smoke. CO alarms are required outside each bedroom, in close proximity to bedrooms, in all newly constructed single-family and two-family homes and townhouses of up to three storeys. Effective Date: January 2017 Section 349 requires the installation of wired and interconnected CO alarms in every bedroom and room equipped with a CO source or adjacent to an attached garage. Compliance with this requirement will be phased in, with new properties to be met immediately (July 2018).