Effective January 1, 2019, the following requirement regarding battery-operated smoke alarms will be enforced under the new NJ Uniform Fire Code Requirements.
N.J.A.C. 5:70-4.19 Smoke alarms for one- and two-family dwellings; carbon monoxide alarms; and portable fire extinguishers:
SMOKE ALARM REQUIREMENTS:
1. In one- and two-family or attached single family dwellings subject to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.3, smoke alarms shall be installed as follows:
a. On each level of the premises; and
b. Outside of each separate sleeping area.
2. The smoke alarms required in (a) above shall be located and maintained in accordance with NFPA 72.
a. The alarms shall not be required to be interconnected.
3. 10-YEAR SEALED BATTERY-POWERED SINGLE STATION SMOKE ALARMS shall be installed and shall be listed in accordance with ANSI/UL 217, incorporated herein by reference. However, A/C-powered single or multiple-station smoke alarms installed as part of the original construction or rehabilitation project shall not be replaced with battery-powered smoke alarms. The effective date of this subsection shall be January 1, 2019.
a. A/C-powered smoke alarms shall be accepted as meeting the requirements of this section.
4. The State’s Uniform Construction Code requires all homes built after January 1, 1977 to have alternating current (AC) hardwired alarms installed inside the dwellings.
CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM REQUIREMENTS:
Carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed in all dwelling units in buildings in one- and two-family or attached single family dwellings, except for units in buildings that do not contain a fuel-burning device or have an attached garage, as follows:
1. Single station carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed and maintained in the immediate vicinity of the sleeping area(s).
2. Carbon monoxide alarms may be battery-operated, hard-wired or of the plug-in type and shall be listed and labeled in accordance with UL-2034 and shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of this section and NFPA-720.
PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER REQUIREMENTS:
A portable fire extinguisher shall be installed in accordance with the following:
1. The extinguisher shall be within 10 feet of the kitchen and located in the path of egress;
2. The extinguisher shall be readily accessible and not obstructed from view;
3. The extinguisher shall be mounted using the manufacturer's hanging bracket so the operating instructions are clearly visible;
4. The extinguisher shall be an approved listed and labeled type with a minimum rating of 2A-10B:C and no more than 10 pounds;
5. The owner's manual or written operation instructions shall be provided during the inspection and left for the new occupant;
6. The extinguisher shall be serviced and tagged by a certified Division of Fire Safety contractor within the past 12 months or the seller must have a receipt for a recently purchased extinguisher; and
7. The top of the extinguisher shall not be more than five feet above the floor.
8. Exception: Portable fire extinguishers shall not be required for seasonal summer units. For purposes of applying this exception, "seasonal summer unit" shall mean a dwelling unit rented for a term of not more than 125 consecutive days for residential purposes by a person having a permanent residence elsewhere, but shall not include use or rental of living quarters by migrant, temporary, or seasonal workers in connection with any work or place where work is being performed.
To avoid potential false alarms and improper operation, do not install smoke alarms in the following areas:
□ Kitchens - Smoke from cooking may cause a nuisance alarm.
□ Bathrooms - Excessive steam from a shower may cause a nuisance alarm.
□ Near heating or air conditioning ducts
□ The "Dead Air" space where the ceiling meets the wall (see Figure 5).
□ The peak of an "A" frame ceiling at the top may prevent smoke from reaching the detector.
