N.J. Admin. Code § 5:70-4.9

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 5:70-4.9 - Automatic fire and carbon monoxide alarms

(a) An automatic fire alarm system shall be installed as required below in accordance with the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code.

1. In all buildings of Use Group I:

i. Alarm systems in buildings of Use Group I must be supervised.

ii. In buildings of Use Group I-1, smoke detectors or smoke alarms that are to be located closer than five feet to a kitchen or bathroom area shall be of photoelectric type only.

2. In all buildings of Use Group R-1 and in R-3 bed and breakfast homestays:

i. In dwelling units or guestrooms, 10-year sealed battery-powered single station smoke alarms shall be installed. The effective date of this subparagraph shall be January 1, 2019. Such smoke alarms shall be maintained in accordance with 5:70-3, 907.11.2.

ii. In bed and breakfast homestays of Use Group R-3, the system shall not be required to be supervised or connected to an emergency power supply.

iii. All buildings of Use Group R-1, regardless of the number of units, shall have available at least one portable visual alarm type smoke detector or smoke alarm for the deaf or hearing impaired for each 50 units or fraction thereof. The owner may require a refundable deposit for such portable smoke detector or smoke alarm not to exceed the value of the smoke detector or smoke alarm. Notification of the availability of such devices shall be provided to each occupant.

3. In all buildings of Use Group R-2 as follows:

i. All buildings of Use Group R-2, including multiple dwellings and rooming houses with six or more occupants, shall have approved smoke detection systems located in all interior common areas. Such systems shall be powered by an alternating current (AC) constantly active electric circuit that cannot be deactivated by the operation of any interconnected switching device and shall comply with the adopted electrical subcode of the Uniform Construction Code in effect at the time of installation, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such systems shall be on circuitry that is connected into the building owner's electric meter.

(1) In multiple dwellings six stories or more in height and having 30 or more dwelling units, such systems:

(A) Shall be connected to a supervisory type listed control panel conforming to U.L. 864 requirements and NFPA 72 standard in effect at the time of installation, except as otherwise provided in this section;

(B) Shall be powered by an approved emergency power source installed in conformance with the adopted electrical subcode of the Uniform Construction Code in effect at the time of installation; and

(C) Shall have a control panel of the multi-zoned type that will visually indicate the floor or zone from which the alarm is activated, which panel shall be located in accordance with NFPA 72 standard in effect at the time of installation or as directed by the local fire subcode official.

ii. A pre-signal alarm feature is not permitted.

iii. The separate zoning of floors in high rise buildings for selective floor evacuation is permitted at the discretion of the fire official.

iv. Alarms shall be located so as to be effectively heard above all other sounds, by all the occupants, in every occupied space within the building not separated by fire walls having a fire-resistance rating of at least two hours.

v. In dwelling units, approved 10-year sealed battery-powered single station alarms shall be installed. The effective date of this subparagraph shall be January 1, 2019. The alarms shall be maintained in accordance with 5:70-3, the State Fire Prevention Code, Section 907.11.2.

vi. Smoke detectors or smoke alarms that are to be located closer than five feet to a kitchen or bathroom area shall be photoelectric type only.

vii. At the request of a tenant of a unit in which a person who is deaf or hearing-impaired resides, the owner shall provide and install a visual alarm type smoke detector or smoke alarm for that unit or, in the case of a rooming or boarding house resident, for that resident's sleeping area.

4. With the approval of the fire protection subcode official, fixed temperature or combination rate-of-rise and fixed temperature heat detectors may be substituted for smoke detectors or smoke alarms in those locations where frequent nuisance alarms would be likely to occur. Such building spaces include, but are not limited to, garages, crawl spaces, uninhabitable attics, heater and boiler rooms, laundry rooms, kitchens, restaurant service areas, and other rooms where the ambient temperatures are below 40 degrees Fahrenheit or are above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and/or have a relative humidity either below 20 percent or above 85 percent or where environmental conditions are likely to produce nuisance alarms.

5. Existing common area smoke detection systems that were installed in compliance with this subchapter or with the Regulations Governing Rooming and Boarding Houses or Regulations for the Maintenance of Hotels and Multiple Dwellings and maintained in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, for which a construction permit was issued subject to plan review approval, shall be accepted as conforming to this section.

6. In any municipality that enacted an ordinance requiring the installation of smoke detectors or smoke alarms in multiple dwellings prior to November 11, 1980, a building fully conforming to the requirements of such ordinance prior to November 12, 1980, shall be deemed to be in either full or partial compliance with the requirements of this section if the fire official determines that the provisions of such ordinance provide reasonable life safety protection to the occupants and that replacement of equipment already installed in conformity with such ordinance would be an undue hardship for property owners.

i. A general determination pursuant to this subsection shall be made by the fire official upon review of the ordinance and separate exceptions shall not then be required for individual properties covered by such general determination.

ii. If a determination is made that full compliance with the ordinance is an acceptable substitute for partial compliance with the requirements of this section, the fire official shall specify all respects in which a building fully complying with the ordinance must be made to comply with this section.

7. In all buildings used as child day care centers, regardless of Use Group.

8. In all buildings of Use Group E the system shall consist of:

i. An approved system of automatic smoke detectors; or

ii. An approved automatic fire suppression system equipped with automatic fire alarm devices; or

iii. An approved system which combines the following elements shall be acceptable when devices are located as indicated below:

(1) Combination fixed temperature/rate-of-rise detectors in classrooms and ancillary spaces; and

(2) Photoelectric or projected-beam smoke detectors in exit access corridors and at the top of the exit stair enclosures.

(3) Fixed temperature detectors in such a system shall be accepted in locations such as boiler rooms, garage areas and other spaces in which conditions render other detectors inappropriate.

iv. Existing fire detection systems, installed and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, and meeting the intent of current standards for automatic fire alarms, shall be acceptable; provided:

(1) The existing system is tested, in accordance with the provisions at Section 907 of the State Fire Prevention Code, N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, by an approved service agency competent in the manufactured system, in the presence of the fire official or his or her designated representative. The fire official may accept a written report of test results in lieu of witnessing the test.

(2) Where a portion of an existing system is not serviceable and cannot be repaired, the existing system shall be replaced in accordance with the provisions of this Code.

9. In all buildings or portions thereof of Use Group A-2 (nightclubs) with an occupant load of 100 or more that are not otherwise required to have an automatic fire suppression system.

i. If the alarm is activated by smoke detectors, it shall be activated by either two cross-zoned smoke detectors within a single protected area or a single smoke detector monitored by an alarm verification zone or an approved equivalent method and the smoke detectors shall be of a type designed to reduce the possibility of false notifications based on the conditions present in the area protected.

ii. The automatic fire alarm system shall be tied to the performance sound system and to the house lights in such a way that activation of the fire detection system mutes the performance sound system and restores the intensity of illumination to that required by 5:70-4.11(i)2.

(b) An automatic fire alarm system shall not be required in buildings, other than boarding homes of Use Group I-1, equipped throughout with an automatic fire suppression system, a manual fire alarm system, and single station smoke detectors located in the immediate vicinity of sleeping areas in accordance with NFPA 72.

(c) Automatic fire alarm systems required by this Code shall be supervised as determined by the fire official and installed in accordance with the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code in effect at the time of installation.

(d) effective September 3, 2017, carbon monoxide detection equipment shall be installed in all existing buildings that contain a fuel-burning appliance or have an attached garage. An "open parking structure," as defined in the building subcode of the Uniform Construction Code, shall not be deemed to be an attached garage.

1. One- and two-family dwellings: Carbon monoxide detection shall be installed in buildings of Use Groups R-3 and R-4 in accordance with the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:70-4.19.

2. Carbon monoxide detection equipment shall be installed in the immediate vicinity of each sleeping area in any guestroom or dwelling unit located in a building of Group I-1, R-1, or R-2 occupancies, except as provided at (d)2i or ii below.

i. Guestrooms or dwelling units which do not themselves contain a fuel-burning appliance or have an attached garage, but which are located in a building with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage, need not be provided with single station carbon monoxide detection equipment provided that:

(1) The guestroom or dwelling unit is located more than one story above or below any story which contains a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage;

(2) The guestroom or dwelling unit is not connected by duct work or ventilation shafts to any room containing a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage and the building has a common area carbon monoxide alarm system with all common area detectors connected to an approved supervisory station or other approved local visual and audible supervisory signal; and

(3) Individual detection equipment is located in every room adjacent to the room(s) containing a fuel-burning appliance; and

(A) In every corridor, hall or lobby adjacent to such room(s);

(B) In the immediate vicinity of any ventilated shaft, including, but not limited to, stair shafts, elevator shafts, ventilation shafts on the story containing the fuel-burning appliance; and

(C) On any story within two stories above or below the story containing the fuel-burning appliance.

ii. The building is provided with a supervised carbon monoxide detection system installed in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code. Individual detectors shall be located in every room containing a fuel-burning appliance. All such detectors shall be connected to an approved supervisory station. Carbon monoxide and fire alarms may be incorporated into a common monitored system.

3. Carbon monoxide detection equipment shall be installed in all occupancies other than those listed in (d)2 above in accordance with this paragraph. Systems using detectors shall have a distinct visual and audible notification. When alarms are installed in lieu of detectors, they shall be located such that the audible signal is not less than 15 dB above the average ambient sound level. Carbon monoxide detectors or alarms shall be installed in the immediate vicinity of all potential source(s) of carbon monoxide.

i. Carbon monoxide detection equipment shall not be required:

(1) In locations, such as repair garages, where the presence of carbon monoxide may be expected as a function of the normal use of the space;

(2) In the immediate area of large-drop battery charging;

(3) In unconditioned spaces where detectors or alarms may be subject to ambient temperatures outside the device's listed operating range or spaces where exposure to potential contaminants which may adversely affect their operation. For unconditioned spaces that require such detection, detection equipment shall be installed in approved adjacent room(s) or space(s);

(4) In other occupiable space(s) not connected by duct work or ventilation shafts to any room containing a fuel-burning appliance or to an attached garage, provided that the building has a common area carbon monoxide detection system with all common area detectors connected to an approved supervisory station or other approved local visual and audible supervisory signal and individual carbon monoxide alarms are located:

(A) In every room adjacent to the room(s) containing a fuel-burning appliance, and in every corridor, hall or lobby adjacent to such room(s);

(B) In the immediate vicinity of any ventilated shaft, including, but not limited to, stair shafts, elevator shafts, or ventilation shafts on the story containing the fuel-burning appliance;

(C) In the first area served by each main duct leaving the area where the appliance is located; and

(D) Any story within two stories above or below a story containing a fuel-burning appliance.

4. For carbon monoxide detection systems in occupancies other than those listed at (d)2 above, audible and visual supervisory notification shall only be provided at the detector, control panel, and remote annunciator. The balance of the system installation shall comply with NFPA 720 and shall be installed in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code. Carbon monoxide and fire alarms may be incorporated into a common monitored system.

5. Carbon monoxide alarms shall be manufactured, listed and labeled in accordance with UL 2034 and shall be installed and maintained in accordance with the requirements of this section and the edition of NFPA 720 currently referenced in this chapter, as applicable. Carbon monoxide alarms may be battery operated, hard wired or of the plug-in type. Expired alarms shall be immediately replaced.

6. Carbon monoxide detection systems shall comply with the edition of NFPA 720 currently referenced in this chapter. Carbon monoxide detectors shall be listed in accordance with UL 2075.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:70-4.9

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 1381(b), effective 6/5/2017

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 729(a), effective 2/5/2018

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 553(b) effective 4/15/2024

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 1851(b), effective 9/16/2024