Burlington, WI Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Section 155-36 of the Code of the City of Burlington is a single, direct mandate: any exit door equipped with a card reader entry system or a magnetic door lock security system must also carry an entry key override switch. The same requirement is folded into the Fire Department's access-box rules under § 155-29, which lists which buildings need a lockbox at or near the main entrance, including commercial or industrial structures with a fire alarm, control, extinguishing or suppression system; any structure secured against emergency access by a fence, gate, wall or connected buildings; and multifamily residential buildings with locked common-area doors.

Newly built structures covered by § 155-29 must have their access box installed and operational before an occupancy permit issues; existing buildings get one year from being ordered by the Authority Having Jurisdiction to comply. Section 155-29I places the cost of purchasing and installing any required access box or key override switch squarely on the property owner: the Fire Department will not order the device on the owner's behalf. Maintenance of the box and its contents, including master keys to locked points of ingress and egress, elevator control keys, and alarm-panel keys, is likewise the owner's continuing duty.

A property that fails to install the required override switch or access box is subject to the chapter's general citation authority under § 155-54 and the penalty clause at § 155-55A, which treats each day of noncompliance as a separate offense.