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New Smoke Alarm Requirements |
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Friday, 10 March 2006 |
March 1, 2006 -- As of March 1, 2006, every home in Ontario is required to have working smoke alarms on every storey or level, including basements.
According to information from the Ontario Fire Marshal and as drafted in the Ontario Fire Code, "a smoke alarm is required to be installed between each sleeping area and the remainder of the dwelling unit. Where the sleeping areas are served by hallways, the smoke alarms must be installed in the hallways." In addition, at least one smoke alarm is required to be installed on each storey that does not contain a sleeping area.
Non-compliance with the Ontario Fire Code smoke alarm requirements can result in a ticket for $235 or a fine of up to $50,000 for homeowners, tenants and individual landlords, and up to $100,000 for corporations.
The Ontario Fire Code has specific methods for determining what is considered a storey in a dwelling unit. For detailed information on this and other aspects of this new requirement, please see the Ontario Fire Marshal's web site and click on "Working Smoke Alarms: It's the Law", and then on "Q&A’s".
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