Palatine, IL Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Section 8-28 of the Palatine Village Code amends the 2021 International Residential Code to add three sprinkler subsections. R313.3 requires fire sprinkler protection in attached garages at a density of 0.05 gpm per square foot; if extended-coverage dry sidewall sprinklers from the garage separation wall cannot fully cover the space, the builder must provide the best achievable coverage plus a written narrative explaining the limiting factors, which the building official and fire official review with the permit. R313.4 triggers a whole-house NFPA 13D sprinkler system whenever a townhouse or one- and two-family residence is altered, renovated, rehabilitated or reconstructed and the work touches 50 percent or more of the floor area, so a large addition or gut remodel can convert an unsprinklered older home into one that must be sprinklered throughout.

R313.5 layers on a notification duty: an exterior audio-visual device triggered by sprinkler water flow must sit on the street side of the building so responding crews see it immediately, unless the fire official approves a different location. These amendments sit inside the same Chapter 8 that adopts the 2021 IRC generally, so plan review, the building permit, and the certificate-of-occupancy inspection under Sections 8-21 through 8-24 are where compliance is checked before a garage or remodeled home can be occupied.