Hackensack, NJ Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Section 100-43B places smoke alarms at three mandatory locations regardless of occupant load: on the ceiling or wall just outside each separate sleeping area, in each room actually used for sleeping, and on every story of the dwelling unit, including basements and cellars but not crawl spaces or uninhabitable attics. This applies to Group R-2, R-3 and R-4 occupancies (multifamily, one- and two-family, and care-type residential uses) as well as dwellings not otherwise classified in Group R. A split-level exception lets a single upper-level alarm cover an adjacent lower level where there is no intervening door and the lower level sits less than one full story below.

On power, Section 100-43C requires that where an alarm's primary power comes from building wiring served by a commercial source, it must also carry a battery backup that signals when the battery runs low, with permanent wiring and no disconnect switch other than normal over-current protection; alarms may be solely battery-operated only in buildings without commercial power service or where installation would require removing wall or ceiling finishes. Where more than one alarm is required in a unit, Section 100-43D requires them to be interconnected so that one activating sets off all of them, audible in every bedroom over background noise with doors closed, subject to exceptions for buildings not undergoing alteration or construction.