Queen Anne's County, MD Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Chapter 15 of the Queen Anne's County Code, the Housing chapter, requires each housing unit to be provided with a minimum of one single-station smoke detector in the vicinity of each sleeping area. The rule sits in § 15-11 F(2), applies in unincorporated Queen Anne's County, and covers residential structures other than owner-occupied single-family housing units (§ 15-3). Centreville, Queenstown and the other incorporated towns have separate codes.

Three standards come from § 15-11 F(2). First, the detector count and placement: one per housing unit at minimum, positioned near each sleeping area. Second, installation and maintenance must follow Article 38A, § 12A, of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Third, when a detector is actuated it must provide an alarm suitable to warn occupants within the unit. Section 15-12 E ties responsibility for installing and maintaining in good working order any detector installed under the chapter to that same state provision.

The County also adopts a separate Fire Prevention Code in § 10-6, enforced by the Fire Marshal, defined as the Division Chief of the Queen Anne's County Office of the Fire Marshal, and Deputy Fire Marshals. That section adopts NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 by reference. It does not apply to one- and two-family dwellings, except for the installation and maintenance of smoke alarms and residential sprinklers when required by any federal, state or local law or regulation.

Other firesafety rules in § 15-11 sit beside the detector requirement. Fire protection systems and equipment must be maintained in proper operating condition at all times. Sprinkler heads must be kept clean and free of corrosion and paint. Each sleeping room in a basement needs an operable window or exterior door for emergency egress or rescue, or access to two separate exits. Garbage or rubbish cannot accumulate in stairways, passageways, doors, windows or fire escapes.