Who
Minnesota State Statute 299f.362 states the owner of the property is legally responsible for the installation, maintenance and record keeping of individual smoke detectors.
What
Regular maintenance includes:
- Testing of each individual smoke detector within each living unit.
- Recording the date they were tested.
- Recording the results of the test.
- Recording the action taken should they have fail to operate.
These records shall be kept on the property and made available to the fire inspector at the time the fire inspection is done.
How
Testing should be done according to the manufacturers recommendations. Usually this involves pushing a test button for 5-10 seconds.
When
If you are providing battery operated smoke detectors inside individual living units you are required to test those detectors as per the manufacturers recommendations but not less than once per month. If your smoke detectors are the hard wired type or part of the dwelling units electrical system, you must test detectors as per manufacturers recommendations but not less than twice annually.
A major smoke detector manufacturer recently started stamping the back of they're detectors with a exportation date of ten years from the date of manufacture. Nothing lasts forever.