Boynton Beach, FL Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Sec. 10-60(d)(2), part of the Property Maintenance Code's fire safety article, requires single or multiple-station smoke alarms in all multi-unit dwellings regardless of occupant load, placed on the ceiling or wall just outside each separate sleeping area, inside every room used for sleeping, and on every story of the unit, including basements and cellars, though crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics are excluded. A split-level unit without a door between levels can rely on one alarm on the upper level to cover the lower level, as long as the lower level sits less than a full story down.

Sec. 10-60(d)(3) requires those alarms to draw their primary power from the building's wiring, fed from a commercial power source, backed up by a battery, and wired without a disconnect switch other than normal overcurrent protection; battery-only alarms are allowed only in buildings with no commercial power source, buildings under no construction, or existing areas untouched by renovations that expose the structure. Sec. 10-60(d)(4) requires interconnection wherever more than one alarm is required in a unit within Group R-2, R-3, or R-4 occupancies, so that one alarm triggering sets off all of them, loud enough to be heard in every bedroom with the doors closed.

The article as a whole also requires the rest of a building's fire protection systems, from fire doors to sprinkler and standpipe systems, to stay in operable condition under the Florida Fire Prevention Code.