Bethlehem, PA Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Detector placement
- Each floor in use, activity areas
- Sleeping rooms
- Additional detector required
- Fire extinguisher
- Sized per Fire Dept. recommendation
- Enforcing agency
- Bureau of Health
- First violation fine
- $200 or 30 days, or both
Summary
Bethlehem's day care facilities code requires a working smoke detector on every floor used by the facility, with an extra detector in any room used for sleeping. The rule sits inside the facilities standards of Article 1165, not a separate fire chapter, and is enforced by the Bureau of Health alongside the Fire Department.
A smoke detector shall be present and functioning on each floor of the building in use as a day care facility in activity areas. An additional smoke detector shall be in use in any room utilized for sleeping purposes. ... An operable fire extinguisher or extinguishing system shall be available in all day care facilities. Such extinguisher(s) shall be of a size and number recommended by the Fire Department and shall be inspected as recommended by the Fire Department.
Full Breakdown
04(u), part of the FACILITIES requirements for day care centers, requires that a smoke detector be present and functioning on each floor of the building in use as a day care facility in activity areas, with an additional smoke detector required in any room used for sleeping purposes. The same subsection also requires an operable fire extinguisher or extinguishing system in all day care facilities, sized and numbered as recommended by the Fire Department and inspected on the Fire Department's recommended schedule; operators must be familiar with using the equipment.
Subsection (r) separately requires that all day care facilities conform to City Fire and Building Codes as they relate to means of egress, and that rooms used during hours of darkness have an operable flashlight or similar emergency light source. Subsection (s) requires an emergency evacuation plan posted on each floor in use as a day care facility. 08.
Violations & Fines
Because the smoke detector requirement is a facilities standard under Article 1165, a violation is enforced through the Article's general penalty at 1165.99: a fine of $200 or thirty days imprisonment for a first offense, $500 or sixty days for a second, and $1,000 or ninety days imprisonment for a third or subsequent offense, with the Bureau of Health empowered to inspect and cite noncompliant facilities during its mandatory twice-yearly inspections.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Bethlehem require smoke detectors in day care facilities?
Does Bethlehem also require fire extinguishers in day care centers?
What code enforces this smoke detector rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bethlehem
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