New Britain, CT Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Sec. 13-104 of Chapter 13's Housing Code, Division 4, defines a smoke detector as a device approved by a nationally accepted testing laboratory and as defined by the state fire safety code. Every dwelling unit inside a residential structure containing more than two dwelling units must have at least one smoke detector, either hardwired to a standard 120-volt AC circuit or powered by a self-contained battery rated for at least one year of life. The same structures must also carry a smoke detector at the head of every stairway that leads to an occupied area.

Placement matters: detectors must sit on the main sleeping level so they can monitor all sleeping rooms, and the exact location has to meet the approval of the fire marshal. The ordinance closes an obvious loophole in subsection (e): a smoke detector wired to a switch that can be turned off, or one that has gone dead from battery deterioration, is treated as non-compliant even if it was installed correctly in the first place, so a landlord cannot claim the unit satisfies the rule just because it once worked.

This division sits alongside the city's other minimum equipment standards, including the kitchen sink, stove, refrigerator and flush toilet requirements in the surrounding sections. Any violation of Sec. 13-104, like any other Chapter 13 violation, is punishable under the chapter-wide penalty at Sec. 13-260: a fine of not more than $150. The rule applies specifically to structures of more than two dwelling units, so it targets multi-family buildings such as triple-deckers and small apartment houses rather than single-family homes.