Fitchburg, WI Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Section 44-630(6) triggers the requirement: any new residential occupancy containing three or more dwelling units must be equipped with a manual alarm system with smoke detection installed in common hallways, stairwells, storage areas, and common basements, and smoke detectors must also be installed in each living area of the building, wired so they are not connected to the building's general alarm system. Section 44-631 then governs how any required detector has to be built and placed. All components of a fire or smoke detector system must be listed by Underwriter's Laboratories or the Factory Mutual System and must conform to National Fire Protection Association Standards 71, 72A, 72C, 72D, or 72E.

Smoke detectors themselves, whether photoelectric or ionization type, must be installed approximately 30 feet on center on the ceiling or wall of the protected area, and every smoke detector must carry an LED lamp showing a ready or alarm status. Section 44-633 requires plan review before any system is installed or altered: three copies of the system plans go to the fire department, showing detector, pull station, and horn locations, before conditional approval and installation can proceed. Section 44-634 further requires the installer to keep a service organization within 50 miles of the city and to be a licensed electrician, and section 44-635 requires the acceptance test to be witnessed by a city fire department inspector before the system goes into service.