Bellevue, WA Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Two amended sections of the International Fire Code drive Bellevue's residential sprinkler rules. 8 requires an automatic sprinkler system installed throughout any newly constructed building where total floor area, including basements, exceeds 10,000 square feet, and extends the same requirement to an existing building when an addition pushes the combined floor area past 10,000 square feet, or when a structural alteration or repair to a building already at or above that size exceeds 50 percent of its assessed valuation or 50 percent of its replacement cost under the Marshall Valuation Service Cost Handbook.

Buildings separated by one or more fire walls are not treated as one building for this threshold, and the section states it controls over any conflicting IBC or IFC provision adopted by the city. 2 then sets the sprinkler design standard specifically for residential (Group R) occupancies: automatic sprinkler systems in Group R buildings up to and including four stories may be installed throughout using the lighter NFPA 13R standard rather than full NFPA 13. 4, which permit additional stories through fire-separated 'podium' construction; those buildings must be sprinklered throughout in accordance with NFPA 13 instead, with story counts measured from the horizontal assembly that creates the separate buildings.

2 carves out a narrow bathroom exception in Group R units: sprinklers are not required in bathrooms of 55 square feet or less within individual dwelling or sleeping units if the walls and ceiling, including behind a shower or tub enclosure, use noncombustible or limited-combustible material rated for 15 minutes.