Is It Time for a Tennessee Fire Code?

Tennessee currently requires code users to piece together the International Codes, State Fire Marshal amendments, and various state laws and code adoption documents to fully understand the state's fire and life safety requirements a process that can be time-consuming and unclear. Creating a Tennessee Fire Code, updated every three years, would consolidate these requirements into a single, accessible document and provide greater clarity and consistency for everyone who applies them.

Fire Protection Requirements Removed in Tennessee

Over the years, Tennessee has removed several important fire and life safety requirements from its statewide code requirements, including:

• Residential fire sprinklers in one- and two-family dwellings.

• Fire sprinklers in townhomes.

• Tennessee provides an alternative to the model fire code by allowing qualifying food trucks to use portable fire extinguishers that comply with NFPA 10 instead of requiring an NFPA 96 hood suppression system.

• Storm shelters for schools.

• Fire sprinkler retrofits for short-term rental properties that would otherwise be required under the model code.

Tennessee is also currently considering additional changes, including:

• SB 1096: As introduced, allows an existing place of worship to be used for educational purposes without reclassification of the building's occupancy type if certain conditions are met. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 68, Chapter 120.

These aren’t minor administrative changes. They are statewide decisions that directly affect how buildings are designed, constructed, and ultimately how Tennesseans are protected.

Regardless of whether someone agrees or disagrees with these individual decisions, they should be easy to identify and understand. Today, if you open the International Fire Code or International Building Code, you won’t immediately know which provisions Tennessee has amended, removed, or replaced. That information exists, but it’s published separately. A Tennessee Fire Code would incorporate those amendments into one clear, accessible document.

Why a Tennessee Fire Code Makes Sense

Tennessee wouldn’t be starting from scratch. States across the country already maintain statewide fire codes or integrated building and fire code systems that are updated on a regular three-year cycle alongside the International Codes. That approach provides a consistent baseline while allowing each state to adopt amendments that reflect its own needs.

Updating the Tennessee Fire Code every three years isn’t about changing the rules simply because a new edition has been published. It’s about keeping pace with an industry that continues to evolve.

Data centers, battery energy storage systems, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, mass timber construction, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies are changing how we design and protect buildings. The International Codes and their referenced standards continue to evolve to address these advancements, incorporate lessons learned from real-world incidents, and improve fire and life safety.

A regularly updated Tennessee State Fire Code would provide one official source for Tennessee’s fire and life safety requirements, create greater consistency across the state, simplify compliance, improve clarity, and ensure Tennessee keeps pace with modern construction and emerging technologies.

What Do You Think?

Should Tennessee create a Tennessee Fire Code that is updated every three years to keep pace with emerging technologies, modern construction, and today’s fire protection standards?

I’d especially like to hear from fire marshals, fire inspectors, plans examiners, building officials, architects, engineers, contractors, legislators, and anyone involved in code development.

Should Tennessee create a Tennessee Fire Code? Why or why not?