Fort Worth, TX Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Fort Worth adopted the 2021 International Fire Code as its Fire Code under City Code § 13-1, then layered local amendments onto it through § 13-2, including a standalone carbon monoxide chapter (Section 915) and a rental-housing alarm mandate (Section 907.11). Section 907.11.1 folds CO alarms into the landlord's smoke-alarm duty: 'All dwelling units which are rented or leased shall be provided with smoke alarms in accordance with this code..., as well as carbon monoxide alarms where required by Section 915 or 1103.9 as applicable.' Purchase, installation, and initial testing fall on the landlord before the tenant takes occupancy.

Once alarms are in place, upkeep splits by cause. Section 907.11.1.1 gives the landlord 24 hours after a tenant's malfunction notice to replace the alarm, or the landlord can ask the tenant in writing to do it at no cost to the tenant. Section 907.11.1.3 puts routine battery replacement on the tenant. Separately, Section 915.6 imposes a citywide maintenance duty not limited to rentals: CO alarms and detection systems 'shall be maintained in accordance with NFPA 720,' and any unit that goes inoperable or starts producing an end-of-life signal 'shall be replaced by the owner of the occupancy.'

Section 915.2.3 adds a school-specific layer: CO detection is mandatory in every classroom in a Group E occupancy, with alarm signals automatically routed to a staffed on-site location during school hours, unless the school's occupant load is 30 or less or the space is a portable classroom structure. Enforcement of all three provisions runs through the fire code official under Chapter 13.