§ 231-24. Firesafety requirements.

A. 

General.

(1) 

Scope. The provisions of this chapter shall govern the minimum conditions and standards for firesafety relating to structures and exterior premises, including firesafety facilities and equipment to be provided.

(2) 

Responsibility. The owner of the premises shall provide and maintain such firesafety facilities and equipment in compliance with these requirements. A person shall not occupy as owner-occupant or permit another person to occupy any premises that do not comply with the requirements of this chapter.

B. 

Means of egress.

(1) 

General. A safe, continuous and unobstructed path of travel shall be provided from any point in a building or structure to the public way. Means of egress shall comply with the International Building Code.

(2) 

Aisles. The required width of aisles in accordance with the International Building Code shall be unobstructed.

(3) 

Locked doors. All means-of-egress doors shall be readily openable from the side from which egress is to be made without the need for keys, special knowledge or effort, except where the door hardware conforms to that permitted by the International Building Code.

(4) 

Emergency escape openings. Required emergency escape openings shall be maintained in accordance with the code in effect at the time of construction and the following:

(a) 

Required emergency escape and rescue openings shall be operational from the inside of the room without the use of keys or tools.

(b) 

Bars, grilles, grates or similar devices are permitted to be placed over emergency escape and rescue openings, provided that the minimum net clear opening size complies with the code that was in effect at the time of construction, and such devices shall be releasable or removable from the inside without the use of a key, tool or force greater than that which is required for normal operation of the escape and rescue opening.

C. 

Fire-resistance ratings.

(1) 

Fire-resistance-rated assemblies. The required fire-resistance rating of fire-resistance-rated walls, fire stops, shaft enclosures, partitions and floors shall be maintained.

(2) 

Opening protectives. Required opening protectives shall be maintained in an operative condition. All fire and smoke stop doors shall be maintained in operable condition. Fire doors and smoke-barrier doors shall not be blocked or obstructed or otherwise made inoperable.

D. 

Fire alarm and detection systems.

(1) 

General. This section covers the application, installation, performance and maintenance of fire alarm systems and their components.

(2) 

Groups. Single or multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed and maintained in Groups R-2, R-3, R-4 and I-1, as defined in the International Building Code 2000, New Jersey Edition, regardless of occupant load at all of the following locations:

(a) 

On the ceiling or wall outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms.

(b) 

In each room used for sleeping purposes.

(c) 

In each story within a dwelling unit, including basements and cellars, 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.

(3) 

Power source. In new construction, required smoke alarms shall receive their primary power from the building wiring where such wiring is served from a commercial source and shall be equipped with a battery backup. Smoke alarms shall emit a signal when the batteries are low. Wiring shall be permanent and without a disconnecting switch other than as required for over-current protection.

(4) 

Interconnection. Where more than one smoke alarm is required to be installed within an individual dwelling unit in Group R-2, R-3 or R-4, or within an individual guest room or suite in Group R-1, the smoke alarms shall be interconnected in such a manner that the activation of one alarm will activate all of the alarms in the individual unit. The alarm shall be clearly audible in all bedrooms over background noise levels with all intervening doors closed.

E. 

Carbon monoxide alarms.

(1) 

General. Single-station carbon monoxide alarms are required to be installed and maintained in the immediate vicinity of the sleeping area in every single-family residence, guest room or dwelling unit and those structures that are required to be registered with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs as multiple dwellings.

(2) 

Applicability. All such alarms shall be installed if the dwelling unit or guest room in the building contains a fuel-burning appliance, has an attached garage or is connected by ductwork or ventilation shafts to a room containing a fuel-burning appliance or to an attached garage. If the building contains a fuel-burning appliance or has an attached garage, common area alarms shall be installed in the immediate vicinity of any ventilation shaft on the floor containing the fuel-burning appliance and within two stories above and below. For buildings registered with the New Jersey Bureau of Housing Inspection or the Bureau of Rooming and Boarding House Standards, Bureau approval is required for such installation. Common area alarms must be interconnected or monitored. As an alternative, alarms may be installed in each unit.

(3) 

Installation. All such alarms shall be installed and maintained as follows:

(a) 

The device is permitted to be battery-operated, hard-wired or plug-in type.

(b) 

If installing an electrically operated device, the AC power source is required to be supplied from either a dedicated branch circuit or the unswitched portion of a branch circuit also used for power and lighting. Operation of a switch (other than a circuit breaker) or a ground-fault circuit interrupter is not permitted to cause loss of power to the alarm.

(c) 

The alarm may be located on a wall, ceiling or other location as specified in the manufacturer's installation instructions.

(d) 

The device is required to be supported independently of its attachment to wires.

(e) 

For alarms installed in the vicinity of sleeping rooms, the alarm notification appliance is required to be clearly audible in all bedrooms over background noise levels and with all intervening doors closed, with a minimum rating of 85 dBA at 10 feet. If the alarm is intended to notify occupants in the same room, the sound pressure level is permitted to be 75 dBA at 10 feet.

(f) 

Alarms shall be manufactured, listed and labeled in accordance with UL 2034, entitled "Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms." Each device shall have a label indicating that it meets this requirement.