Wauwatosa, WI Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

030, adopted by Ord. O-78-43 in 1978 and amended by Ord. O-92-3 in 1992, sets a building-by-building sprinkler installation table covering manufacturing and storage buildings, garages, basements, multifamily housing, office buildings, motels, hotels, theaters, hospitals, nursing and penal facilities, schools, dormitories and hazardous-materials occupancies. For multifamily buildings, fire-resistive construction needs sprinklers in basements, stairways and corridors up to three stories and throughout once the building reaches three stories; non-fire-resistive multifamily construction needs sprinklers in basements, stairways and corridors, and throughout once the building reaches two stories.

020 defines a multifamily house as a building with four or more dwelling units sharing a common entrance, so duplexes and single-family homes fall outside this table entirely. 040 makes it unlawful to reduce a required system's effectiveness except for authorized testing, repairs or alterations, and requires the fire department be notified before and after that work. 030 if the bureau finds it poses a severe fire hazard to occupants or adjoining property. 070 exempts a short list of spaces, such as safe deposit vaults and rooms storing water-reactive materials like calcium carbide or metallic sodium, where the authority having jurisdiction agrees sprinklers would increase the hazard.