combo smoke / co detector Illinois

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

ronball

Senior Member
Location
Champaign Il.
Occupation
Electric Contractor
Just had a final inspection on a single level ranch home.
Has a bedroom on opposite ends of home.( total of 2) We had 1 combo smoke co detector
close to one bedroom and another smoke outside of other bedroom. AHJ said we need
to have 2 separate combo,s both on the same floor. Has something changed, we are still on Nec 2008.
We always had only 1 combo on each floor, if their were more than 1 floor. Sometimes this inspector makes
his on codes up from time to time. Just did 1 a few months ago with him, and it was all fine. Am I missing
some new code rules. We also had smokes inside both bedrooms also. No basement, no 2nd floor.
Thx Ron
 
ronball said:
Just had a final inspection on a single level ranch home.
Has a bedroom on opposite ends of home.( total of 2) We had 1 combo smoke co detector
close to one bedroom and another smoke outside of other bedroom. AHJ said we need
to have 2 separate combo,s both on the same floor. Has something changed, we are still on Nec 2008.
We always had only 1 combo on each floor, if their were more than 1 floor. Sometimes this inspector makes
his on codes up from time to time. Just did 1 a few months ago with him, and it was all fine. Am I missing
some new code rules. We also had smokes inside both bedrooms also. No basement, no 2nd floor.
Thx Ron
Click to expand...

Locations for residential Smoke/CO detectors is not found in the NEC. It is a building code issue be it City, County, or State. Call your local AHJ for clarification.
 
The NEC doesn't cover smokes, the ICC and the NFPA do. That being said here are the rules.


Smokes/ Carbon
ICC 2012

Smokes

R314.3 Location.
Smoke alarms shall be installed in the following locations:

1. In each sleeping room.
2. Outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.
3. On each additional story of the dwelling, including basements and habitable attics but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics. In dwellings or dwelling units with split levels and without an intervening door between the adjacent levels, a smoke alarm installed on the upper level shall suffice for the adjacent lower level provided that the lower level is less than one full story below the upper level.

R314.3.1 Alterations, repairs and additions.
When alterations, repairs or additions requiring a permit occur, or when one or more sleeping rooms are added or created in existing dwellings, the individual dwelling unit shall be equipped with smoke alarms located as required for new dwellings.

2010 NFPA 72

29.5.1* Required Detection.
29.5.1.1* Where required by other governing laws, codes, or standards for a specific type of occupancy, approved single- and multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed as follows:
(1)*In all sleeping rooms and guest rooms
(2)*Outside of each separate dwelling unit sleeping area, within 21 ft (6.4 m) of any door to a sleeping room, with the distance measured along a path of travel
(3)?On every level of a dwelling unit, including basements
(4)?On every level of a residential board and care occupancy (small facility), including basements and excluding crawl spaces and unfinished attics
(5)*In the living area(s) of a guest suite
(6)?In the living area(s) of a residential board and care occupancy (small facility)

R315.1 Carbon monoxide alarms.
For new construction, an approved carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms in dwelling units within which fuel-fired appliances are installed and in dwelling units that have attached garages.
 
If the rooms are more than 30 ft apart, state law requires additional units. Some places may require more detectors INSIDE bedrooms as well.

"425 ILCS 60/3(a) Every dwelling unit or hotel shall be equipped with at least one approved smoke detector in an operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. ...
(b) Every single family residence shall have at least one approved smoke detector installed on every story of the dwelling unit, including basements but not including unoccupied attics..."

Paragraph (f) also requires new installations to be interconnected, hardwired and backup power source (i.e., battery or backup generator).

430 ILCS 135/10 is the state requirement for CO detectors, mimicking the 15-foot rule of smoke alarms in sleeping areas.

Illinois state laws apparently do NOT preempt local regulations that may be more strict, or substantially different. As mentioned, your local fire inspector can quickly tell you, assuming you can't just find information on their website. I found at least one city (Edwardsville) having an ordinance that expressly adopts IRC and NFPA 101, in which Chapter 24 requires smoke alarms in bedrooms, outside bedrooms and on each level, unless there is equivalent protection by a system having smoke detectors and occupant notification devices. This, or the ILCS, is the "where required by other governing laws or codes" mentioned in NFPA 72, cited above. The CO detectors are not even mentioned in NFPA 101.
 
ronball said:
Just had a final inspection on a single level ranch home.
Has a bedroom on opposite ends of home.( total of 2) We had 1 combo smoke co detector
close to one bedroom and another smoke outside of other bedroom. AHJ said we need
to have 2 separate combo,s both on the same floor. Has something changed, we are still on Nec 2008.
We always had only 1 combo on each floor, if their were more than 1 floor. Sometimes this inspector makes
his on codes up from time to time. Just did 1 a few months ago with him, and it was all fine. Am I missing
some new code rules. We also had smokes inside both bedrooms also. No basement, no 2nd floor.
Thx Ron
Click to expand...
As far as I know the Illinois statute requiring CO alarms, had an effective date of 1/1/2007 and the rule has not been changed since that effective date.
In your other projects, were the bedrooms close enough to each other so that a single CO alarm would be within 15' of all of the bedrooms?
The Illinois statute also requires the smoke alarm to be within 15' of each bedroom. The design of this current house may not permit a single device to be within 15' from each of the bedrooms and that would trigger a requirement for a second CO alarm.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
In Illinois the rules requiring those devices are set by statute, not by the adoption of other codes and standards.
Click to expand...

Illinois has also adopted the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (2000 Edition) as part of Title 41 of the Administrative Code, part 100.7, with amendments not relevant to this discussion.
ftp://www.ilga.gov/jcar/admincode/041/041001000000070R.html

Therefore, the smoke alarm/detector requirements of Chapter 24 of that code, citing NFPA 72, would apply in the entire state, plus the specific state statutes requiring them (and the CO) no greater than 15 ft from a bedroom door, even though NFPA 72 allows them as far as 21 feet, as cited by mshow1323 in #3.
 
Illinois has a state statute regarding smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The AHJ may have adopted additional requirements. Often adopted amendments are available on city/village websites. The electrical inspector always has the correct answer to any questions, of course. If you call in advance it will save on embarrassing correction notices.
 
Code Insanity

Code Insanity

Sparky555 said:
Illinois has a state statute regarding smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The AHJ may have adopted additional requirements. Often adopted amendments are available on city/village websites. The electrical inspector always has the correct answer to any questions, of course. If you call in advance it will save on embarrassing correction notices.
Click to expand...

It's insane to allow every county, city, town, village, and hamlet to add their own requirements to national standards. New Jersey doesn't get a lot right, but at least we got this right. One code, from Cape May to High Point and Camden to the Shore. Wherever you are it's the same. There are still guys out there with their "shirt pocket" rules, but if you are right and stand your ground (politely!) you can usually get them to come around.
 
gadfly56 said:
It's insane to allow every county, city, town, village, and hamlet to add their own requirements to national standards. New Jersey doesn't get a lot right, but at least we got this right. One code, from Cape May to High Point and Camden to the Shore. Wherever you are it's the same. There are still guys out there with their "shirt pocket" rules, but if you are right and stand your ground (politely!) you can usually get them to come around.
Click to expand...

Yes, that particular insanity is part of my business. To make it worse I can get different interpretations from different inspectors within the same department. I tell customers that if they want to know what is required I will call the inspector now. They adopt new NECs and amendments without informing contractors. One village will be on the 1999 and another on the most recent. One will allow NM and another conduit only.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top