Pasco does not have a separate local smoke-alarm ordinance; smoke alarms are required through the International Fire Code and International Residential Code adopted in Pasco Municipal Code Chapter 16.65 and 16.05, and through Washington State law. Alarms are required in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of a dwelling, including basements.
Smoke-alarm requirements in Pasco come from the model codes the City adopts rather than a stand-alone city rule. Pasco Municipal Code Chapter 16.05 adopts the Washington State Building Code and the International Residential Code, and Chapter 16.65 adopts the International Fire Code; both incorporate Washington's smoke-alarm standard, WAC 51-51-0314 (IRC Section R314), as amended by the Washington State Building Code Council. Under that standard, smoke alarms must be installed: in each sleeping room; outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms; and on each additional story of the dwelling, including basements and habitable attics. When a permit-triggering alteration, repair, or addition occurs, or when a sleeping room is added, existing dwellings must be brought up to the new-construction smoke-alarm locations. For rental housing, Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW Chapter 59.18) requires landlords to provide working smoke detection, and to maintain alarms between tenancies, with the tenant generally responsible for replacing batteries during the tenancy. Carbon-monoxide alarms are separately required under RCW 19.27.530 for most dwellings. Pasco's Fire Department also promotes a free smoke-alarm installation program for residents who need help. Because these requirements are set by state code rather than a unique Pasco ordinance, the City enforces the statewide standard; there is no special elevated local requirement beyond the adopted codes.
Failing to provide or maintain required smoke alarms can be enforced under the building and fire codes adopted in Pasco Municipal Code Chapters 16.05 and 16.65 and under Washington State law. For rental property, a landlord's failure to supply working smoke detection is a violation of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW Chapter 59.18, and can expose the landlord to tenant remedies and code-enforcement action. New construction and permitted remodels that do not meet the WAC 51-51-0314 alarm-placement requirements will not pass inspection. Tampering with or disabling required alarms is also prohibited.
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