How Many Smoke Detectors Must You Legally Have in a MA Home?

We're well into spring and here in the Berkshires, we have been getting our fair share of April showers and cloudy weather. Keep your head up as sunny days are due to come and brighten up Berkshire County.

Each year most of us are cognisant of setting our clocks either ahead or back an hour depending on the time of year. One thing we may forget to do, at least I do, is checking our smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Usually, I'll double-check the units around the time of the time change but admittedly not on the day. Typically I tend to remember a couple of weeks later and more so if the alarm is chirping at me which usually means the alarm needs a new battery or the unit has reached its expiration date and needs to be replaced with a new one.

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The most recent time I was checking on the units, I started wondering if there's a certain amount of smoke alarm units that I'm legally supposed to have installed in my home. There's quite of range of requirements depending on the age of your home and other factors. In my case, my home was built in 1968 which means these are the smoke alarm requirements for Typical one- and two-family residences built before January 1, 1975, according to mass.gov.

Smoke Alarms are Required as Follows:

• On every habitable level of the residence.
• In the basement.
• On the ceiling at the base of each stairway leading to
  a floor above including the basement (but not within
  stairways).
• On the ceiling outside each separate sleeping area.

Obviously, not everybody falls into the example listed above. To see a detailed document for smoke alarm and carbon monoxide requirements in your Massachusetts home, click/tap here.