Frederick County, VA Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Frederick County folds its smoke-detector mandate for short-term rentals into the zoning use standards for short-term lodging rather than a standalone fire-code section. C(3) lists the conditions every dwelling or manufactured home used for short-term lodging must meet, and item (c) requires a working multipurpose fire extinguisher, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors whenever the unit has a fireplace or gas service that would create a carbon monoxide hazard. The same subsection requires the unit to be available for County inspection during reasonable hours under the Administration article, to meet the applicable Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code or Manufactured Home Safety Regulations as determined by the Building Official, and to post an exit-pathway plan inside the door of every sleeping room used for lodging, so the detector requirement works alongside a posted evacuation route rather than standing alone.

Because these standards sit inside the short-term lodging permit conditions administered by the Department of Planning and Development, the Zoning Administrator, not a separate Fire Marshal filing, is the first point of enforcement when a complaint or inspection turns up a missing detector; the Frederick County Fire Marshal's office under Chapter 90, Fire Prevention and Protection, remains available for additional life-safety inspections on top of the zoning requirement. A host who removes or fails to maintain the required detectors is out of compliance with the conditions attached to the short-term lodging permit itself, which can support permit revocation in addition to a zoning violation, since the permit was issued on the condition that these standards would be met and kept up for as long as the rental operates.