Georgetown, KY Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Georgetown's smoke alarm rule is a local amendment to the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by reference in § 8-164. Section 8-165 omits IPMC § 704.3 and substitutes its own Power source section, and that substitute text is the only smoke alarm language printed in the city's code that this page quotes.

The first sentence is a grandfather clause. The owner of premises can continue to use battery-powered smoke detectors if the premises have a sufficient number of existing battery-powered smoke detectors in operational condition. Nothing in the amendment forces a retrofit of a working battery-only system on its own.

The trigger for upgrading is work on the building. Whenever the premises are renovated or otherwise modified in such a manner as to provide accessible installation of primary power to smoke alarms from building wiring from a commercial source, the alarms must receive their primary power from the building wiring, provided that the wiring is served from a commercial source, and they must be equipped with a battery backup. The printed text of this sentence repeats the phrase "shall have smoke alarms shall receive," and this page quotes it as printed.

Two hardware requirements follow. Smoke alarms shall emit a signal when the batteries are low, and wiring shall be permanent and without a disconnecting switch other than as required for overcurrent protection. That means a plug-in cord or a wall switch that can turn the alarm off does not satisfy the wiring requirement.

Under IPMC § 103.1 as amended in the same section, the code enforcement board and the city's code enforcement officers are responsible for enforcing the property maintenance code. Violations are charged by citation under chapter 2, article VI.