Haverford, PA Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Section 86-5 of the Haverford Township Code modifies the Fire Prevention Code, which § 86-1 ties to the Uniform Construction Code as the municipal building code. Subsection D covers homes. In new construction where an attached garage or fuel-fired appliances exist, an approved carbon monoxide alarm must be installed outside each sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, and the alarms must be hard wired and connected to a 120V household electrical circuit.

Existing dwellings are not swept in all at once. The duty is triggered where work requiring a permit or a change of occupancy occurs, and then only where attached garages or fuel-fired appliances exist. In that case the alarm goes outside each sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, and battery-operated alarms are permitted. The line moves up to the new-construction standard when renovations remove 50% of interior walls or ceilings, so a gut renovation means hard-wired alarms rather than battery units.

Subsection E covers commercial buildings. Carbon monoxide alarms are required in all new and existing commercial buildings where fuel-fired appliances exist or where carbon monoxide could pose a life safety risk to occupants. Those alarms must be hard wired and interconnected with the building smoke detection system, installed in rooms containing fuel-fired appliances, and placed in a central location within occupied spaces served by the first supply air register from a fuel-fired appliance.

The same section carries the residential smoke alarm rules in subsection C, which follow the same new-versus-existing split, and the commercial smoke and heat detection rule in subsection B, which calls for an alarm of at least 85 dBA throughout the premises. Enforcement belongs to the Department of Codes Enforcement under § 86-2. A person aggrieved by a code official's decision can appeal to the Board of Appeals of Delaware County under § 86-8, following Chapter 8, Article II of the Township's General Laws.