Janesville, WI Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Sec. 16-32 of the Janesville Code of General Ordinances adopts every Wisconsin and federal statute, administrative code, rule, regulation and standard governing smoke detectors and smoke alarms, including their installation, maintenance, testing, definition and use, and folds all future amendments to those state and federal rules directly into city law. Sec. 16-33 then states the operative command: each owner, possessor or occupant of a structure or dwelling covered by the article must install, or have installed, approved and fully operable smoke detectors, and must keep them in place at all times.

The same section requires full, ongoing compliance with every applicable Wisconsin and federal smoke-detector statute, code or rule, not just a one-time installation. Enforcement runs through Sec. 16-34, which authorizes any City Fire, Building Code or Police official to inspect for compliance. Inspections may follow a public-safety response of any kind, a request from the owner or occupant, or any new occupancy, construction, remodeling or alteration. Where an owner, possessor or other person in charge refuses to consent to entry, the City may seek a special inspection warrant under Wis.

Stats. §§ 66.122 and 66.123. Violations are punished under Sec. 16-35: a forfeiture of not less than $50.00 nor more than $1,000.00 plus the costs of prosecution, with additional remedies of injunction, mandamus or abatement available to the City, and license or permit revocation by the Common Council for an offending owner or an affiliated entity. A permit or license previously issued is not a defense, and neither is any error or oversight by the Fire Chief or Authority Having Jurisdiction.