Lubbock, TX Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

018(c)(2)(E). Multiple-station smoke alarms are required, and where more than one is installed in a unit they must be interconnected so that any activation sounds every alarm in that unit, audible in all bedrooms over background noise with doors closed. Alarms must draw primary power from building wiring on a commercial circuit, carry battery backup, and chirp when batteries run low, with permanent wiring and no disconnect switch besides required overcurrent protection. Once installed, each detector and its interconnecting wiring must be tested to the household fire warning equipment provisions of NFPA 72.

Required locations are the ceiling or wall outside each sleeping area, inside every room used for sleeping, and on every story of the dwelling unit, including basements but excluding crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics; a split-level unit without an intervening door can rely on the upper-level alarm to cover an adjacent lower level less than a full story down. The fire code official may also require alarms in living areas. The same Subsection E layers on other protection: at least one portable 2-A:10-B:C fire extinguisher per 3,000 square feet plus one per level, automatic sprinklers for new Type B facilities housing six or more residents, and a fire alarm system for existing or new group homes with six or more residents unless interconnected smoke alarms already meet the standard.

A City Health Department inspection, benchmarked to Texas Health and Human Services long-term care standards, precedes permit issuance, and the annual, nontransferable permit must be prominently displayed.