Burlington, WI Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Section 155-49B of the Code of the City of Burlington treats smoke detectors and fire alarm systems already installed as "existing systems" that must keep complying with the chapter. Every smoke detector, whether battery operated or electrically interconnected, must be tested at least once every six months, and fire alarm systems overall must be inspected, tested and maintained under NFPA 72. Manual pull stations are tested monthly by physically activating the device; where a protected premises has 12 or fewer pull stations, testing just one each month satisfies the rule, but a premises with more than 12 must cycle through additional stations so that every pull station on the system gets tested within a calendar year.

Written records of every smoke detector and fire alarm test, showing results, dates, duration, location and who performed the test, must be kept on site and available to the Authority Having Jurisdiction for at least seven years. If those records go missing or are outdated for more than a year, and any part of the fire alarm system or any smoke detector is found missing or inoperable, the Fire Inspector may order the owner to install or replace the existing system, including new electrically interconnected smoke detectors and the fire alarm control panel, entirely at the owner's cost.

The AHJ may also require that testing be performed in its presence. A contracted vendor performing this work must leave a written report with the owner and send a copy to the Fire Department. Noncompliance is enforceable under the chapter's general citation authority, § 155-54, and penalized under § 155-55A.