Nashville, TN Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Occupancy groups covered
- R-2, R-3, R-4, and I-1
- Required locations
- every bedroom, hallway, and story
- Wiring standard
- interconnected and hardwired with battery backup
- Garage/cellar option
- heat detectors allowed instead
- Penalty
- civil fine under Code Chapter 1.24
Summary
Metro Nashville's Fire Prevention Code requires smoke alarms in every bedroom, in the hallway outside sleeping areas, and on each story of homes, apartments, hotels, and dorms, regardless of occupant load.
907.2.11.2 Groups R-2, R-3, R-4, and I-1. Single- or multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed and maintained in Groups R-2, R-3, R-4, and I-1, regardless of occupant load in the following locations:
1. On the ceiling or wall outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms.
2. In each room used for sleeping purposes.
3. In each story within a dwelling unit, including basements, garages and cellars but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics. In dwellings or dwelling units with split levels and without an intervening door between the adjacent levels, a smoke alarm installed on the upper level shall suffice for the adjacent lower level provided that the lower level is less than one full story below the upper level.
Exception: Heat detectors may be substituted for smoke detectors installed in cellars and attached garages.
Adding the following subsection:
907.2.11.2.1 Additions, alterations or repairs to Group R. Where an addition, alteration or repair to an individual dwelling unit or guestroom in Group R requires a permit, smoke alarms shall be installed within that individual dwelling unit or guestroom in accordance with this section. Where one or more sleeping rooms are added or created in an existing Group R, smoke alarms shall be installed in accordance with this section.
Exception: Repairs to the exterior surface of occupancies in Group R are exempt from the requirements of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 53 | Charter: Republication 9).
Full Breakdown
Metropolitan Code of Laws § 10.64.012 amends International Fire Code § 907.2.11.2 to mandate single- or multiple-station smoke alarms in Group R-2, R-3, R-4, and I-1 buildings, apartments, hotels, dorms, and one- and two-family homes, on the ceiling or wall outside each sleeping area, inside every bedroom, and on every story, including basements and garages, though crawl spaces and uninhabited attics are exempt. Heat detectors are allowed instead in cellars and attached garages. Any permitted addition, alteration, or repair to a dwelling unit triggers the same installation duty. Metro's electrical code amendments at § 16.20.150 separately require the alarms to be interconnected and hardwired to building power with battery backup.
Violations & Fines
Violating the Fire Prevention Code triggers a civil penalty under Metro Code Chapter 1.24 for each violation or instance of noncompliance, and the fire chief can order the hazard corrected or the permit revoked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nashville require hardwired smoke alarms?
Can I use a battery-only smoke alarm in Nashville?
Are garages required to have smoke alarms in Nashville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nashville
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