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

040(6), apply to all new and unpermitted detached ADUs, with any standard not listed defaulting to Pasco's adopted building requirements. Subsection (a) requires ADUs to comply with the City's building code under PMC Title 16 and all referenced standards, and subsection (b) requires the ADU's location to meet the required fire separation distances of that same building code. Subsection (c) then adds the sprinkler trigger: a fire sprinkler system shall be required for any ADU that exceeds the maximum allowed distance to a fire hydrant.

161 itself; an applicant whose lot sits beyond that fire-flow distance from the nearest hydrant must design the ADU with sprinklers to obtain a building permit. 040(6)(d): they must be built with fire separation per Title 16 unless the applicant qualifies for an alternative under the Washington State Amendments to the IRC, which requires interior connecting access, owner occupancy of either unit, and interconnected smoke alarms between the primary dwelling and the ADU.