2007 Minnesota Statutes

299F.362 SMOKE DETECTOR; INSTALLATION; RULES; PENALTY.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
(a) "Apartment house" is any building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented,
leased, let, or hired out to be occupied, or which is occupied as the home or residence of three or
more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in the building, and
shall include buildings containing three or more flats or apartments.
(b) "Dwelling" is any building, or any portion thereof, which is not an apartment house,
lodging house, or a hotel and which contains one or two "dwelling units" which are, or are
intended or designed to be, occupied for living purposes.
(c) "Dwelling unit" is a single unit providing complete, independent living facilities for
one or more persons including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and
sanitation, or a single unit used by one or more persons for sleeping and sanitation pursuant to a
work practice or labor agreement.
(d) "Hotel" is any building, or portion thereof, containing six or more guest rooms intended
or designed to be used, or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied, or which are
occupied for sleeping purposes by guests.
(e) "Lodging house" is any building, or portion thereof, containing not more than five guest
rooms which are used or are intended to be used for sleeping purposes by guests and where rent
is paid in money, goods, labor, or otherwise.
    Subd. 2. Rules, smoke detector location. The commissioner of public safety shall
promulgate rules concerning the placement of smoke detectors in dwellings, apartment houses,
hotels, and lodging houses. The rules shall take into account designs of the guest rooms or
dwelling units.
    Subd. 3. Smoke detector for any dwelling. Every dwelling unit within a dwelling must be
provided with a smoke detector meeting the requirements of the State Fire Code. The detector
must be mounted in accordance with the rules regarding smoke detector location adopted under
subdivision 2. When actuated, the detector must provide an alarm in the dwelling unit.
    Subd. 3a. Smoke detector for new dwelling. In construction of a new dwelling, each smoke
detector must be attached to a centralized power source.
    Subd. 4. Smoke detector for apartment, lodging house, or hotel. Every dwelling unit
within an apartment house and every guest room in a lodging house or hotel used for sleeping
purposes must be provided with a smoke detector conforming to the requirements of the State
Fire Code. In dwelling units, detectors must be mounted in accordance with the rules regarding
smoke detector location adopted under subdivision 2. When actuated, the detector must provide
an alarm in the dwelling unit or guest room.
    Subd. 5. Maintenance responsibilities. For all occupancies covered by this section where
the occupant is not the owner of the dwelling unit or the guest room, the owner is responsible for
maintenance of the smoke detectors. An owner may file inspection and maintenance reports with
the local fire marshal for establishing evidence of inspection and maintenance of smoke detectors.
    Subd. 5a. Inform owner; no added liability. The occupant of a dwelling unit must inform
the owner of the dwelling unit of a nonfunctioning smoke detector within 24 hours of discovering
that the smoke detector in the dwelling unit is not functioning. If the occupant fails to inform
the owner under this subdivision, the occupant's liability for damages is not greater than it
otherwise would be.
    Subd. 6. Penalties. (a) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be subject
to the same penalty and the enforcement mechanism that is provided for violation of the State Fire
Code, as specified in section 299F.011, subdivision 6.
(b) An occupant who willfully disables a smoke detector or causes it to be nonfunctioning,
resulting in damage or injury to persons or property, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
    Subd. 7. Local government preempted. This section prohibits a local unit of government
from adopting standards different from those provided in this section.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1991 c 199 art 1 s 67]
    Subd. 9. Local government ordinance; installation in single-family residence.
Notwithstanding subdivision 7, or other law, a local governing body may adopt, by ordinance,
rules for the installation of a smoke detector in single-family homes in the city that are more
restrictive than the standards provided by this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subdivision
may be enforced through a truth-in-housing inspection.
    Subd. 10.MS 1988 [Repealed, 1989 c 322 s 5]
    Subd. 10. Public fire safety educator. The position of Minnesota public fire safety educator
is established in the Department of Public Safety.
    Subd. 11. Insurance claim. No insurer shall deny a claim for loss or damage by fire for
failure of a person to comply with this section.
History: 1977 c 333 s 2; 1978 c 777 s 7; 1987 c 122 s 1; 1987 c 201 s 4-6; 1989 c 322 s
1-5,7; 1991 c 233 s 110; 1993 c 329 s 1,2; 2005 c 136 art 9 s 11,12,14