Rockville, MD Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Rockville amends International Residential Code Section R314.3 to spell out exactly where smoke alarms must go in one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses: inside every sleeping room, in the hallway outside each sleeping area, on every additional story including basements and habitable attics, near bathrooms subject to clearance rules, and in every townhouse loft. This placement standard sits inside the City's adopted residential building code (IRC amendments), separate from the Property Maintenance Code's alarm-installation mandate for existing buildings, and it governs new construction, additions, and permitted work reviewed by the Building Division.