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Council reviews smoke- and carbon-monoxide alarm ordinance revision to match state code
Summary
Councilors and staff reviewed Ordinance 2026-02 to remove an added interconnectivity requirement and to adopt 2018 Maryland language on carbon-monoxide alarms (10-year sealed-battery/combination units) to replace outdated 2012 code text; staff may require interconnectivity for new rental enrollments.
City staff presented Ordinance 2026-02 and redline edits prepared by the city attorney to align Frostburg’s code with relevant sections of the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) and to update carbon-monoxide detector requirements to the Maryland 2018 standard. Staff said they removed an extra interconnectivity requirement previously added by the city and are proposing to “bring it back down to the connected requirement of the IPMC.”
The changes would allow combination smoke/carbon-monoxide units and permit 10-year sealed-battery carbon-monoxide alarms in line with the 2018 state requirement. Staff noted that Frostburg’s current local code still referenced the 2012 IPMC language and that updating to state standards would clarify obligations, particularly for rental units.
Councilors and staff also discussed whether to require interconnectivity for newly enrolled rental properties (not retroactive grandfathering) and the technical difficulties of past firewall/interconnectivity concepts. Staff suggested following the IPMC language and asked the city attorney to add updated carbon-monoxide language; if ready, the ordinance may be introduced at the next meeting.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the attorney’s edits on carbon-monoxide language and return the ordinance for potential introduction at a future council meeting.
