Delaware Code Title 16, Chapter 66, Subchapter IV (§§6631-6634) requires smoke detectors in every residential occupancy in New Castle County, including 1- and 2-family dwellings, mobile/modular homes, townhouses, apartments, hotels, and dormitories. Devices must be installed outside each sleeping area and on every story including basements. Homes built after July 8, 1993 require hard-wired, interconnected detectors; older homes may use battery units. The State Fire Marshal enforces, and owners are responsible for installation - tenants on month-plus leases are responsible for batteries.
Smoke detection in New Castle County is governed by the Delaware State Fire Prevention Regulations adopted by the State Fire Prevention Commission and codified in Del. Code Title 16, Chapter 66, Subchapter IV. Section 6631 requires every owner of a residential occupancy to install smoke detection devices capable of automatically sensing visible or invisible particles of combustion and sounding an audible alarm. Section 6632 covers 1- and 2-family dwellings, mobile homes, modular homes, and townhouses - devices must be installed outside each sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms and on each additional story including basements (excluding crawl spaces and unfinished attics). Section 6633 covers other residential occupancies (apartments, multi-family dwellings, hotels, motels, dormitories, board and care facilities) and requires that detectors be interconnected so that activation of any one device sounds the alarm in all devices. Section 6634 sets the compliance dates: residential occupancies constructed after July 8, 1993 must be equipped with hard-wired smoke detectors powered by household electricity (with battery backup); residential occupancies built before July 8, 1993 may use individual, single-station, battery-powered detectors. Detectors must be UL-listed (Underwriters Laboratory, Factory Mutual, or other recognized testing lab). Owners are responsible for installation and ongoing maintenance, but where there is a tenant on a rental agreement of one month or more, the tenant is responsible for maintaining the operable battery in their unit. New Castle County itself does not adopt a separate residential smoke-detector code - the State Fire Marshal's Office (302-323-5365) is the enforcement authority statewide and inspects new construction, rental units on complaint, and all multi-family/transient occupancies. The Delaware State Fire Marshal also runs a Hard-Wired Smoke Detector Program (1 Del. Admin. Code 706-4-6.0) to assist qualifying homeowners with installation.
Failing to install or maintain required smoke detectors is a violation of Del. Code Title 16 §§6631-6634 and the State Fire Prevention Regulations, enforced by the State Fire Marshal's Office. Penalties include fines, orders to comply, and potential criminal liability under Title 16 Chapter 66. Landlords who deliver a unit without operating detectors face additional liability under the Delaware Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. In a fire incident, the absence of working detectors can also create civil liability.
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