Riverside County, CA Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

2 and replaces it with a local standard. New buildings and structures of 3,600 square feet or greater need an approved automatic sprinkler system regardless of occupancy classification. Existing buildings other than one- and two-family dwellings must retrofit sprinklers when they exceed 3,600 square feet and undergo a change of use, removal of a fire wall, or additions of 50% or more that push the total past 5,000 square feet. Critically for homeowners, the code states plainly that "one- and two-family dwellings shall have an automatic fire sprinkler system regardless of square footage in accordance with the California Residential Code," and mobile homes, manufactured homes and multifamily manufactured homes with two dwelling units must also be sprinklered under Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.

Limited carve-outs exist: telecommunications equipment spaces with smoke detection and fire-rated separation, detached agricultural Group U buildings, non-combustible equestrian arena canopies open on all sides, small fueling-station canopies, and detached shade structures over playgrounds or dining areas are exempt. 3 are expressly disallowed here. 010 findings explain the local basis for going beyond the state model code: rainfall ranges from three inches a year in Blythe to over thirty-three inches in Pine Cove, hot dry Santa Ana winds spread fire quickly, the county runs from the Orange County line to Arizona through deserts, mountains and brush-covered wildlands, and the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults both cross the county. 5, which let counties adopt more restrictive fire standards justified by local climate, geology or topography.