Landlord’s Guide to Smoke Alarms & Fire Safety Compliance
Whether you own a rental property or manage hundreds of units, smoke alarms are an essential part of fire safety.
If you are looking for information about smoke detectors as a homeowner or renter, check out our blog tailored to you.
So what is different about smoke detectors for multi-family properties? Let's figure that out now!
Why Smoke Alarms are a Landlords Responsibility
As a property owner or manager, smoke alarms are a legal obligation. They not only protect your buildings and tenants, but protect your finances as well.
Failing to meet fire safety standards can result in lawsuits, fines, or even criminal negligence charges. Fire codes and smoke alarms aren't just hoops for you to jump through, but what do they do?
How do smoke detectors help?
There are three main ways that smoke alarms protect you as a landlord:
- Legal compliance
- Financial liability
- Tenant responsibility
1. Legal compliance
Multi-family buildings are required by law to keep fire codes. Smoke detectors are required by these regulations, which means you need them in your buildings.
Ensuring you have functioning smoke detectors in your properties removes the risk of non-compliance. Risks such as fines, penalties, or even criminal charges for negligence.
2. Financial liability
Smoke alarms are an early detection system to identify fires in your buildings. The earlier you know about a fire, the earlier it can be extinguished.
If a fire does occur and you don't have working smoke alarms installed, you could be liable. Some insurance policies void coverage if smoke alarms don't meet code, leaving you responsible for upwards of six-figure restoration costs.
3. Tenant responsibility
"59% of home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that failed to operate." - NFPA reporting
As a property manager, landlord, or owner it is your responsibility to keep your tenants safe. There is no one action that can save more lives in fires than installing working smoke alarms in every unit.
The bottom line is smoke detectors will save lives, save you money, and save you time dealing with legal issues.
Types of Smoke Alarms for Multi-Family Properties
When we think about the different types of smoke detectors, there are two categories to consider:
1. Detection method
2. Power source
In our homeowners guide we dive deep into the technology of each of these. But, for multi-family properties, the important details are different.
Detection method
Ionization - This system sends a flow of ions that is interrupted when smoke is present.
Photoelectric - These devices use a light that smoke scatters when it enters the device.
Dual Sensor - This system uses both previous technology, and some models can also detect Carbon Monoxide.
For maximum safety for your buildings we recommend dual sensor detectors as they are hands down the best, but do cost a bit more.
Power source
We are often asked "is it better to have a wired or batter smoke detector?" Here's some background information before our recommendation.
Hardwired - Hardwired detectors are more accurate and last longer, but can be hard to install in properties that are already built. However for new builds, hardwired detectors are the safest, making them a no brainer.
Battery - With super simple installation, these are often the most affordable way to get working smoke alarms into any building. They are susceptible to tenant tampering as they can be easily removed. (Consider Tamper Sensors for tenants that regularly remove your alarms)
We recommend hardwired alarms for their reliability and accuracy. They also are the easiest to interconnect, a must have for large buildings. Interconnection means when one alarm goes off, every one in the building is alerted, allowing for quick evacuation.
However if you aren't able to retrofit your building, battery detectors are still a great option, and some models can be interconnected.
Where to Install Smoke Detectors: Meeting NFPA & Local Codes
Fire codes are not controlled heavily on a federal basis. This means that every state has different laws and regulations surrounding multi-family building fire safety.
This makes it incredibly challenging to succinctly say where you MUST install detectors. However, safety is the number one priority. By following our recommendations you will have fire safe buildings that will likely be more secure than fire code requires.
5 placement recommendations for smoke alarms
1. Have a smoke alarm in every bedroom and one outside sleeping areas (hallways or living rooms).
2. Smoke detectors should always be placed on the ceiling, or high on the wall. Smoke rises, make sure your smoke detectors will be able to detect smoke.
3. Smoke alarms don't have to be in very small kitchens. But for larger ones, always keep them at least 10-15 feet from the stove. This prevents false alarms, but is still able to detect cooking emergencies quickly.
4. Have a smoke alarm on every level of a home, including the basement, if applicable. Basement alarms should be located on the ceiling at the bottom of the stairs to the next level.
5. On levels without bedrooms, place them in living rooms and near the stairway to the upper level for large units. Choose one of these locations for smaller units.
As a general idea, we want to be able to detect a fire ASAP, no matter where it starts, or where people are located in the unit/building.
Smoke Alarm Maintenance & Tenant Education
A critical piece of smoke alarm safety is ensuring they are functioning at all times. There is only one way to know whether your detectors are working... TESTING.
Maintenance Strategies
Conduct inspections and tests according to your model's manufacturer instructions. If you aren't sure how often you should test them, every month is recommended by the NFPA.
Most models have a test button, which will sound the alarm. Ensure every tenant knows that the detectors are being tested, as testing one interconnected alarm, sets off every one.
Tenant Smoke Detector Education
Hooray, you have working smoke detectors placed correctly. That is terrific, but it won't save lives if your tenants don't know what to do when they sound.
Provide fire safety pamphlets at move in. Communicate with your tenants regularly to keep them updated with tests, and new fire safety protocols.
To prevent tenant fires you should consider including lease clauses around important fire safety topics such as:
- Smoking
- Unattended cooking and other unsafe cooking practices
- Placing objects within 3 feet of stove
When your tenants are committed to fire safety your building instantly becomes more secure.
Beyond Basic Detectors: Fire Alarm Monitoring
Smoke detectors are one of the most critical pieces of fire safety equipment, but they aren't the only one. Pairing these alarms with monitoring systems can greatly improve your risk management strategies.
What does a monitored fire alarm system do?
A monitoring system works together with smoke alarms to significantly decrease the likelihood of fires and fire/smoke damage.
What are the most common types of fire alarm monitoring?
The two most common types are sprinkler systems, and shutoff devices.
How do these systems work?
They are paired with smoke alarms either through wiring (common in sprinkler systems) or from precise listening technology for shutoff devices.
Important note: FireAvert's Auto Stove Shutoff Devices are trained to only trigger for smoke detectors. They will not trigger for loud music, babies crying, or anything else.
When sprinklers are alerted to the smoke detector they will release water to suppress the flames and minimize fire damage.
If a shutoff device is triggered by the smoke alarm, the stove or other other appliance loses power and cuts off the heat. Because smoke comes before fire, these devices can completely prevent many types of fires, and can even prevent smoke damage.
Why install a fire alarm monitoring system?
Combining a smoke alarm with a monitoring system protects your buildings from fire damage. These complete fire safety systems are the most effective way to prevent a fire and reduce damage repair costs to you.
How Do Smoke Detectors Help Property Managers?
Managing or owning multi-family properties is a lot of work. We don't want your hard work to go up in flames... literally or figuratively.
Installing and maintaining smoke alarms in the right place is one of the best ways to save money, save lives, and save time dealing with legal issues.
Is it better to have a wired or batter smoke detector? That depends on your building and your budget.
For new buildings, hardwired all the way. For retrofitting we still recommend hardwired for accuracy and interconnection. But for smaller budgets battery detectors still get the job done.
Is it necessary to have a smoke detector in every room? The short answer is yes. The long answer depends on unit size and other factors. To review our recommendations, click here.
For fire prevention, the best option is educate your tenants to fire risks, and install fire alarm monitoring systems.
Make your properties more secure today with smoke detectors and monitoring systems.
