Homeowners affected by the new Smoke Alarm Law have until January 1, 2018 to upgrade alarms.
Immediate replacement/upgrade is required when any of the following events or situations occur:
Smoke alarm coverage in older homes constructed prior to January 1, 1989, must be upgraded to at least one approved smoke alarm on every level of the older home when any one of the following first occur:
A. Theexistingsmokealarmismorethantenyearsold. B. Theexistingsmokealarmfailstorespondorotherwise
malfunctions.
C. Thereisachangeoftenant.
D. Abuildingpermitisissuedforanadditionorrenovation. E. January1,2018attheabsolutelatest.
To achieve the upgraded smoke alarm coverage noted above, smoke alarms shall be hard-wired units except that sealed battery-operated smoke alarms with long- life batteries and silence/hush button features may be installed in locations of the home where hard-wired smoke alarms did not previously exist.
Maryland’s Smoke Alarm Law requires the replacement of all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old. This applies to both hard-wired and battery-operated smoke alarms.
Maryland’s new Smoke Alarm Law requires the replacement of smoke alarms when they are ten years old (ten years from the date of manufacture). This replacement requirement is already in the adopted State Fire Code, reference to the 2007 version of the NFPA 72
National Fire Alarm Code (Chapter 10.4.7) which was the first to specify that no “household” smoke alarm (battery or AC) shall be kept in service for any longer than 10 years from its date of manufacture.
Earlier versions of this Code had directed consumers to follow manufacturer recommendations. The Maryland State legislation now mirrors the code requirement that has been in place for six years. It was determined that including this wording again in State Law would effectively re-publicize the existing “10 Year” replacement requirement for residential smoke alarms and result in the widespread replacement of older, nonfunctioning or unreliable smoke alarms.
The date of manufacture, while sometimes hard to locate, should be printed on the back of smoke alarms. If no manufacture date can be located, the alarm is likely outdated and should be replaced to comply with the regulation.
Immediate replacement/upgrade is required when any of the following events or situations occur:
Smoke alarm coverage in older homes constructed prior to January 1, 1989, must be upgraded to at least one approved smoke alarm on every level of the older home when any one of the following first occur:
A. Theexistingsmokealarmismorethantenyearsold. B. Theexistingsmokealarmfailstorespondorotherwise
malfunctions.
C. Thereisachangeoftenant.
D. Abuildingpermitisissuedforanadditionorrenovation. E. January1,2018attheabsolutelatest.
To achieve the upgraded smoke alarm coverage noted above, smoke alarms shall be hard-wired units except that sealed battery-operated smoke alarms with long- life batteries and silence/hush button features may be installed in locations of the home where hard-wired smoke alarms did not previously exist.
Maryland’s Smoke Alarm Law requires the replacement of all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old. This applies to both hard-wired and battery-operated smoke alarms.
Maryland’s new Smoke Alarm Law requires the replacement of smoke alarms when they are ten years old (ten years from the date of manufacture). This replacement requirement is already in the adopted State Fire Code, reference to the 2007 version of the NFPA 72
National Fire Alarm Code (Chapter 10.4.7) which was the first to specify that no “household” smoke alarm (battery or AC) shall be kept in service for any longer than 10 years from its date of manufacture.
Earlier versions of this Code had directed consumers to follow manufacturer recommendations. The Maryland State legislation now mirrors the code requirement that has been in place for six years. It was determined that including this wording again in State Law would effectively re-publicize the existing “10 Year” replacement requirement for residential smoke alarms and result in the widespread replacement of older, nonfunctioning or unreliable smoke alarms.
The date of manufacture, while sometimes hard to locate, should be printed on the back of smoke alarms. If no manufacture date can be located, the alarm is likely outdated and should be replaced to comply with the regulation.