Sherman, TX Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Sherman adopts the 2021 International Residential Code in § 3.02.001 and then edits it in § 3.03.001. Item (3) of that section reads: Section R313.2 (One- and two-family dwellings automatic fire systems) shall be deleted. The effect in the City of Sherman, Texas, is that the model code's sprinkler mandate for one- and two-family dwellings is removed from the city's version of the residential code. The same section deletes Part VIII, Electrical, chapters 34 through 43, and requires an engineered shear wall plan and a form board survey for new residential buildings and additions.

Commercial and other buildings are handled in the Fire Prevention Code, article 3.04, which amends the 2021 International Fire Code. Section 3.04.001 rewrites Section 903.2 to say that approved automatic sprinkler systems in new buildings and structures shall be provided in the locations described in Sections 903.2.1 through 903.2.12, and it adds local occupancy rules. Ambulatory care facilities need a system throughout the floor when four or more care recipients are incapable of self-preservation. Laboratories testing lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries need one throughout the fire areas used for that work.

The code also regulates the equipment itself. Alterations to a fire protection system must be approved and permitted by the fire code official, and hydrostatic testing and inspection can be required before final acceptance (Section 901.4). Sprinkler riser rooms must have a minimum size of 36 square foot with a minimum interior wall to wall dimension of 6 feet, with an additional minimum of 9 square foot per additional riser, and must hold only fire protection equipment (Sections 901.4.7 and 901.4.7.5). When a required system is out of service, the fire department and fire code official must be notified immediately, and a fire watch can be required (Section 901.7). Where chapter provisions conflict, § 3.02.001(b) says the more restrictive provision controls.