9.10.19.8 — Residential Fire Warning Systems

(1) Except as permitted in Article 9.10.19.8., smoke alarms conforming to CAN/ULC-S531, “Smoke Alarms”, shall be installed in, (a) each dwelling unit, (b) each sleeping room not within a dwelling unit, and (c) each interior shared means of egress and common area in a house. (2) Smoke alarms required in Sentence (1) shall have a visual signalling component conforming to the requirements in 18.5.3. (Light, Color and Pulse Characteristics) of NFPA 72, “National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code”. (3) The visual signalling component required in Sentence (2) need not, (a) be integrated with the smoke alarm provided it is interconnected to it, (b) be on battery backup, or (c) have synchronized flash rates, when installed in a house or an individual dwelling unit. (4) The luminous intensity for visual signalling components required in Sentence (2) that are installed in sleeping rooms shall be a minimum of 175 cd. (5) Smoke alarms required in Sentence (1) shall be installed on or near the ceiling.

(1) The sound patterns of smoke alarms shall, (a) meet the temporal patterns of alarm signals, or (b) be a combination of temporal pattern and voice relay.

(1) Except as permitted in Article 9.10.19.8., within dwelling units, sufficient smoke alarms shall be installed so that, (a) there is at least one smoke alarm installed on each storey, including basements, and (b) on any storey of a dwelling unit containing sleeping rooms, a smoke alarm is installed, (i) in each sleeping room, and (ii) in a location between the sleeping rooms and the remainder of the storey, and if the sleeping rooms are served by a hallway, the smoke alarm shall be located in the hallway. (2) Except as permitted in Article 9.10.19.8., within a house that contains an interior shared means of egress or common area, a smoke alarm shall be installed in each shared means of egress and common area. (3) A smoke alarm required in Sentences (1) and (2) shall be installed in conformance with CAN/ULC-S553, “Installation of Smoke Alarms”. (4) A smoke alarm required in Sentences (1) and (2) shall have a visual signalling component conforming to the requirements in 18.5.3. (Light, Color and Pulse Characteristics) of NFPA 72, “National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code”. (5) The visual signalling component required in Sentence (4) need not, (a) be integrated with the smoke alarm provided it is interconnected to it, (b) be on battery backup, or (c) have synchronized flash rates, when installed in a house or an individual dwelling unit. (6) The luminous intensity for visual signalling components required in Sentence (4) that are installed in sleeping rooms shall be a minimum of 175 cd. (7) Smoke alarms required in Sentences (1) and (2) shall be installed on or near the ceiling.

(1) Except as provided in Sentences (2) and (3), smoke alarms required in Sentences 9.10.19.1. (1) and 9.10.19.3. (2) shall, (a) be installed with permanent connections to an electrical circuit, (b) have no disconnect switch between the overcurrent device and the smoke alarm, and (c) in case the regular power supply to the smoke alarm is interrupted, be provided with a battery as an alternative power source that can continue to provide power to the smoke alarm for a period of not less than 7 days in the normal condition, followed by 4 min of alarm. (2) Where the building is not supplied with electrical power, smoke alarms are permitted to be battery operated. (3) Suites of residential occupancy are permitted to be equipped with smoke detectors in lieu of smoke alarms, provided the smoke detectors, (a) are capable of independently sounding audible signals within the individual suites, (b) except as provided by Sentence (4), are installed in conformance with CAN/ULC-S524, “Installation of Fire Alarm Systems”, and (c) form part of the fire alarm system. (4) Smoke detectors permitted to be installed in lieu of smoke alarms as provided in Sentence (3) are permitted to sound localized alarms within individual suites, and need not sound an alarm throughout the rest of the building.

(1) Where more than one smoke alarm is required in a dwelling unit, the smoke alarms shall be wired so that the activation of one alarm will cause all alarms within the dwelling unit to sound.

(1) Except as permitted in Sentence (2), a manually operated device shall be incorporated within the circuitry of a smoke alarm installed in a house or an individual dwelling unit so that the signal emitted by the smoke alarm can be silenced for a period of not more than 10 min, after which the smoke alarm will reset and sound again if the level of smoke in the vicinity is sufficient to reactuate it. (2) Suites of residential occupancy equipped with smoke detectors installed to CAN/ULC-S524, “Installation of Fire Alarm Systems”, which are part of the fire alarm system in lieu of smoke alarms as permitted in Sentence 9.10.19.4. (3), need not incorporate the manually operated device required in Sentence (1).