Boston, MA Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Section 21-6, titled "Concerning Installation of Fire and Smoke Detectors," was enacted by Ord. 1979 c. 36 § 1 and carried forward as CBC 1985 21-6. Its operative text opens with "Notwithstanding the provisions of any other ordinance now in existence," language that makes clear the City Council meant this duty to override any conflicting local provision rather than defer to it. The duty falls on "the legal owner or his or her agent of a building structure", the code reaches past the record owner to whoever is actually managing the property day to day, such as a property manager or managing agent, so responsibility cannot be dodged by delegating building operations without also delegating the detector obligation.

L. Chapter 148, Section 26C," meaning Boston's local ordinance does not set its own independent technical standard for detector placement, spacing or type, it adopts the state fire-safety statute's definition of covered premises and folds the installation duty into City Code. Because § 26C is itself a state requirement tied to occupancy and building type, an owner needs to read that statute alongside § 21-6 to know exactly which detectors (smoke, and where applicable heat or combination units) are required for a given structure. The Boston Fire Department is the agency that inspects for compliance with detector requirements citywide as part of its fire-prevention duties under Chapter 21.