Queen Anne's County, MD Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

The County does not rely on the model code's threshold language for residential occupancies. Section 10-2 deletes the International Building Code's Section 903.2.8 and replaces it with a blanket sentence: an automatic sprinkler system shall be provided throughout all buildings with an occupancy in Use Group R-2 and R-3. The title is amended to read Automatic sprinkler system Group R-2 and R-3. The County text names the use groups but does not define them. Classification comes from the International Building Code adopted in § 10-1, so the Department of Planning and Zoning, whose Zoning Administrator acts as Code Official, decides which occupancy a project falls in.

Schools get a parallel rule. Section 903.2.2 requires an automatic sprinkler system throughout all buildings in Use Group E in accordance with Subsection 903.3.1.1, with one exception: where each classroom has at least one exterior door at ground level.

System design standards come from the adopted codes. Section 10-1 adopts the current edition of the Sprinkler Code, NFPA 13, alongside NFPA 1 and NFPA 101, and Section 904.3.1 points system wiring to the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), most recent edition.

Two limits matter for homeowners and remodelers. First, the County's SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT definition added to the International Residential Code in § 10-3 says that any combination of repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or improvement does not prompt compliance with automatic fire sprinkler system installation requirements. Second, the Fire Prevention Code in § 10-6 does not apply to one- and two-family dwellings, except for the installation and maintenance of smoke alarms and residential sprinklers when required by any federal, state or local law or regulation.

Installed systems must stay working. Under § 15-11 of the housing code, fire suppression systems in housing units so equipped must be maintained in good condition and free from mechanical defect, and sprinkler heads must be kept clean and free of corrosion and paint and cannot be bent or damaged. The Fire Marshal is the Division Chief of the Queen Anne's County Office of the Fire Marshal. Fire Prevention Code appeals go to the Maryland State Fire Prevention Commission, filed in writing with the Fire Marshal within 30 calendar days of notification of violation.