Smyrna, GA Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

Chapter 50 of the Smyrna Code, Fire Prevention, holds the residential sprinkler rule in Sec. 50-81, titled Sprinkler systems in single-family dwellings. Subsection (a) applies to single-family dwellings that do not meet the minimum separation distance applicable by federal and state requirements. Those dwellings have two compliance paths: be sprinkled per N.F.P.A. 13D, or have noncombustible, masonry, adjacent walls with no openings and a Class A or Class B roof covering. Subsection (b) recommends sprinkler systems for all dwellings but does not mandate them. Subsection (c) fixes the design standard: any system used in a single-family dwelling must meet N.F.P.A. 13D. Subsection (d) is the broadest trigger, requiring sprinkler systems in all buildings not readily accessible to fire apparatus as determined by the fire chief.

Sec. 50-35, the amendments to the fire prevention code, adds sprinkler requirements for larger buildings. Under its Sprinkler Requirements item, all new commercial buildings must be sprinkled throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system, and existing buildings over 5,000 square feet must install one on a change of occupancy, an addition greater than 50 percent of the original footprint, an increase in occupant load, or as required by other applicable codes. The same section treats ten feet of level ground, with a maximum ten percent slope, on two sides of a building as reasonable access for rescue ground ladders, and leaves ladder truck access to the Smyrna Fire Department during the plans review process.

Once a system is installed, Sec. 50-82 puts the burden on the property owner. Automatic fire sprinkler systems must be maintained, tested and inspected under NFPA 25, records go to the city's designated electronic reporting system no later than 15 days after the work, and a device that fails its test must be repaired within 30 days. Records are kept for not less than three years. Sec. 50-78 adds that the state fire protection and safety standards are enforced by the bureau of fire prevention.