A proposal to add an explicit automatic fire-sprinkler requirement for adult family homes that serve more than six adults was filed and posted for the 2024 International Residential Code rulemaking, TAG staff said.

Quinn Tye, a building official attending as an alternate, described the filing as an effort to place the sprinkler requirement in the IRC text so building officials and designers do not have to cross-reference Department of Social and Health Services rules and the Revised Code of Washington. "My proposal is to add automatic fire sprinklers in this section because it's already required for adult family homes when you are exceeding six adults, per the RCW," Quinn said during the meeting.

Staff noted the proposal appears in the public submissions and will be treated as a public proposal; the TAG cannot take formal action on it until it is formally routed for TAG review and the TAG conducts deliberations. Angela Haupt, TAG chair, and staff said the proposal will be on the agenda after the TAG schedules follow-up meetings and completes review of the existing-amendments and significant-changes reports.

Why it matters: adult family homes are regulated both by state statutes and by building and life-safety codes. Clarifying the code text can reduce confusion for permit applicants and reviewers about where sprinkler requirements are documented.

The proposal was identified in staff remarks as “proposal 29” on the posted list; no vote or formal TAG amendment action was taken during the meeting.