§ 950.346 - Fire safety.

(a) Applicability. This section applies to all IHA-owned or leased housing, including Mutual Help and Turnkey III.

(b) Smoke detectors. (1) After October 30, 1992, each unit shall be equipped with at least one battery-operated or hard-wired smoke detector, or such greater number as may be required by applicable State, local, or tribal codes, in working condition, on each level of the unit. In units occupied by hearing-impaired residents, smoke detectors shall be hard-wired.

(2) After October 30, 1992, the public areas of all housing covered by this section shall be equipped with a sufficient number, but not less than one for each area, of battery-operated or hard-wired smoke detectors to serve as adequate warning of fire. Public areas include, but are not limited to, laundry rooms, community rooms, day care centers, hallways, stairwells, and other common areas.

(3) The smoke detector for each individual unit shall be located, to the extent practicable, in a hallway adjacent to the bedroom or bedrooms. In units occupied by hearing-impaired residents, hard-wired smoke detectors shall be connected to an alarm system designed for hearing-impaired persons and installed in the bedroom or bedrooms occupied by the hearing-impaired residents. Individual units that are jointly occupied by both hearing and hearing-impaired residents shall be equipped with both audible and visual types of alarm devices.

(4) If needed, battery-operated smoke detectors, except in units occupied by hearing-impaired residents, may be installed as a temporary measure where no detectors are present in a unit. Temporary battery-operated smoke detectors shall be replaced with hard-wired electric smoke detectors in the normal course of an IHA's planned CIAP or CGP program to meet the HUD Modernization Standards of applicable State, local, or tribal codes, whichever standard is stricter. Smoke detectors for units occupied by hearing-impaired residents shall be installed in accordance with the acceptability criteria in paragraph (b)(3) of this section.

(5) IHAs shall use operating funds to provide battery-operated smoke detectors in units that do not have any smoke detectors in place. If operating funds or reserves are insufficient to accomplish this, IHAs may apply for emergency CIAP funding. IHAs may apply for CIAP or CGP funds to replace battery-operated smoke detectors with hard-wired smoke detectors in the normal course of a planned modernization program.