Yonkers, NY Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

City Code § 59-292, 'Requirements for residential occupancies,' sits in Chapter 59's Article XXIV, Firesafety Requirements, alongside a parallel section for institutional buildings, § 59-291, which mandates full sprinkler coverage for facilities that board, lodge or treat the aged or infirm. For hotels, dormitories, lodging and rooming houses, § 59-292 requires sprinklers throughout the building, an electrically supervised manual fire alarm tied to the Fire Department, and an approved standpipe system. Apartment buildings get a narrower rule: sprinklers are required throughout the shared and hazardous spaces, including public corridors, lobbies, stairwells, all basement areas and parking garages, plus areas such as boiler rooms, storage and fuel-storage rooms, janitor closets, maintenance shops, laundries, group kitchens and trash-compactor rooms, and apartment buildings must also have an approved standpipe system.

The code does not extend this list to individual apartment units or to one- and two-family houses. Maintenance is a separate duty under § 59-286: once installed, sprinkler, standpipe and fire-alarm systems must stay in operative condition at all times, and the Fire Department must be notified before and after any test, repair or alteration that temporarily takes the system offline.