Vt. Residential Rental Housing Health & Safety Code (adopted under 18 V.S.A. ch. 172 / 20 V.S.A. ch. 172)

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 31st, 2023
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 Introduction
Residential fires account for approximately 75% of all fire related fatalities in the United States
with 64% of these fires in One-Two Family Dwellings. On average, a fire department responded
to a fire somewhere in the US every 23 seconds in 2021. A home structure fire was reported
every 93 seconds, a home fire death occurred every three hours and eight minutes, and a home
fire injury occurred every 47 minutes.
Vermont has some of the strongest smoke and carbon monoxide alarm laws in the country
spanning all residential occupancies including single-family owner-occupied homes. Fire
behavior has dramatically changed over the years primarily because of the introduction of
synthetics, plastics, open floor plans, tight construction, and larger fuel content. These few
factors alone contribute to rapid and intense fire and smoke spread, high levels of carbon
monoxide production and extreme temperature rise in your structure. These factors have
significantly reduced your evacuation time to less than 3 minutes compared to 8 minutes 20
years ago. It is critical to have properly installed and maintained smoke alarms and carbon
monoxide alarms in your home or rental property. Properly installed and maintained smoke
alarms increase your chance of surviving a home fire by more than 50%. Residential Home Fire
Sprinkler Systems are the most reliable and passive fire protection technology available today.
Home fire sprinklers contain the fire to the point of origin, reduce the temperature of the fire
so flashover does not occur, fills the gap in time between when a call for help is made and the
fire department arrives and most importantly it saves lives, property and reduces the impact to
our environment.
ACT 181-Rental