Scranton, PA Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

The City of Scranton adopted the 1999 BOCA National Fire Prevention Code as its Fire Prevention Code under § 243-1, then amended several of its sections, including the smoke detector rule, under § 243-4. 4 requires single- and multiple-station smoke detectors in each guest room, suite, sleeping area and corridor of Use Groups R-1 (hotels, motels), R-2 (apartments, dormitories) and I-1 (institutional occupancies such as assisted living), and in the dwelling units of Use Group R-3 (one- and two-family homes) in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.

Beyond the room-by-room rule, the ordinance requires a detector on every story of a residential dwelling unit, including the basement, regardless of whether that story contains a bedroom. Split-level homes get a narrow exception: where there is no door separating the levels and the lower level sits less than a full story below the upper one, a single detector on the upper level can serve both. Permits and inspections under this chapter run through the Fire Chief and the chief fire inspector; a property owner who disputes a Fire Chief decision, or believes the code was misapplied, has 10 days from the decision to appeal to the Director of the Department of Public Safety under § 243-2. 4 language was inserted by Ordinance No. 61-1999, adopted April 26, 1999.