Chattanooga, TN Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Placement
- outside sleeping areas + each bedroom
- Coverage
- every story, including basements
- Power
- hardwired with battery backup
- Multiple alarms
- must be interconnected
Summary
Chattanooga's property maintenance code mandates smoke alarms outside sleeping areas, in every bedroom and on every story of a dwelling, hardwired with battery backup and interconnected when more than one is required.
(c) Smoke alarms. Single- or multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed and maintained in dwellings at each of the following locations: (1) On the ceiling or wall outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms. (2) In each room used for sleeping purposes. (3) In each story within a dwelling unit, including basements and cellars but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 40 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 21-197(c) requires single- or multiple-station smoke alarms in every dwelling: on the ceiling or wall outside each separate sleeping area near bedrooms, in each room used for sleeping, and on each story of the unit including basements and cellars (but not crawl spaces or uninhabitable attics). Under Sec. 21-197(d), alarms served by a commercial power source must be hardwired with battery backup and must signal when batteries run low, though solely battery-operated alarms are allowed in structures without commercial power or undergoing minor alterations. Where more than one alarm is required, Sec. 21-197(e) requires them to be interconnected so that one activation triggers all alarms in the unit, audible in every bedroom over background noise with doors closed.
Violations & Fines
Missing or non-compliant smoke alarms violate the Property Maintenance Code and carry the citywide general penalty of up to $500 per day of continued violation (Sec. 1-8), enforceable through the Administrative Hearing Officer (Sec. 21-232).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Chattanooga require smoke alarms in a home?
Can smoke alarms in a Chattanooga home run on batteries only?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chattanooga
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