NAA/NMHC have published a guidance document to help firms understand when the International Fire Code (IFC) requires garden apartments to retroactively install fire alarms. Although the provisions date to the 2000 edition of the IFC, they were given more prominence beginning in the 2009 IFC when they and a number of other retroactive requirements were consolidated into a single chapter.
The increased visibility has led to questions from apartment firms and code enforcers. A new code interpretation commissioned by NAA/NMHC clarifies
how to properly apply the requirement in states and localities where the 2009 IFC has been adopted. It is available at
http://tinyurl.com/4td5kr.