Sherman, TX Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

Section 3.11.003(10)(C) of the Sherman Code is the smoke detector rule for apartment complexes in the City of Sherman, Texas. All fire and smoke detection systems and fire alarm systems required by the fire code must be installed in accordance with the fire code. At a minimum, those systems must be maintained in operating condition and in accordance with any applicable fire code requirements. Battery powered smoke detectors must be maintained in operating condition with adequately charged batteries properly installed. The standard is part of the fire safety list that a complex must satisfy to pass inspection under article 3.11.

The article defines the fire code as the official fire code of the city in effect at the time of construction, with one catch: all existing structures and equipment, and any replacement or new installation, must comply with the current official fire code to the extent that code requires. A landlord who swaps out an old alarm therefore installs to the current code, not the one in force when the building went up.

Smoke detectors are also checked by the landlord. Section 3.11.008 requires the landlord or a designee to inspect each dwelling unit when occupancy changes, with the tenant present, and lists smoke detectors among the items the inspection covers, alongside electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, means of egress and handrails. Both landlord and tenant sign the report, a tenant who disagrees can write comments before signing, and the tenant receives a copy. The landlord must keep those reports and make them available to the administrator at all reasonable times.

The city inspects too. Inspections can be performed annually on a 30-day notice, covering building exteriors, common areas, vacant units and comparative samples of occupied units with the tenant's consent. This section reaches multifamily dwelling complexes of five or more units, not single-family rentals.