A stair is 59 inches wide, with a handrail on one side with a centerline of 1.5 inches from the edge of the stair. The other side of the stair is a wall. For the purposes of calculating a speci􀃎c 􀃏ow, what is the effective width of the stair?
a. 47 in.
b. 48 in.
c. 53 in.
d. 59 in.

Solution | Posted 09/25/20

I'm an AHJ and I know many plan reviewers and inspectors in my area are new to the trade. 

Does anyone have recommendation(s) for good plan review checklists or tools for plan review that would be helpful to rookie and intermediate-level plan reviewers?

Thanks in advance.

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An existing warehouse storing flammable and combustible liquids, considered high-hazard storage, has a ramp at the back of the building used for egress. If the ramp serves an egress load of 79 persons, what is the required minimum ramp width?
a. 30 inches
b. 31.6 inches
c. 39.5 inches
d. 40 inches

Solution | Posted 09/14/20

An open, unobstructed space connects an entry level lobby with a balcony on the level above in a fully sprinklered residential building while separated from the remainder of the building with a smoke barrier. If the space only has low hazard contents and meets egress requirements, what type of space does it qualify as?
a. Atrium
b. Communicating Space
c. Convenience Opening
d. Two-Story Opening with Partial Enclosure

Solution | Posted 08/26/20

If Element A is a 45-minute interior door, B is a corridor, C is a 2-hour rated stair, and D is a non-rated exterior door, which element identified would be considered an exit?

​a. 45-minute Interior Door A
b. Corridor B
c. 2-hour Rated Stair
d. Non-Rated Exterior Door

Solution | Posted 08/20/20

Anybody in this group has experience to design or approval of parking stackers inside the building?

This is outside the code will be reviewed as Amended Means & Methods.

They occur on two different projects (1) The Car's engine shall be off when enter the parking garage and electronic left will park the cars in stack, and (2) The car will be driven inside the garage to platform to be parked.

In both cases the fire sprinkler design density, exhaust system and means of egress requirements are in question.

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We have an exit enclosure that is rated as Class I Division I. My understanding of an accessible route and means of egress, is that it is a "safe" means of egress.

Can an accessible route have a Class I Division I (explosion hazardous classification), or does it need to be purged and pressurized according to Type X requirements?

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I am working on a project with male and female restrooms in separate structures located near a park. The structures are roughly 500 sqft. The structures must comply with NFPA 101 for means of egress. I am trying to figure out travel distance requirements.

What occupancy would you classify the restrooms as? And in turn what would be the maximum travel distance if there is only a single door?

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This building is an H-1 occupancy. There is an area of refuge on the 4th floor. The shelter-in-place Class 3 area of refuge is protected from interior and exterior hazards. There are vertical openings through all 4 floors. The UFC is governing.

Based on this, do the stairwells need to be intertied directly to the shelter-in-place area of refuge for an exit enclosure that is a direct accessible means of egress (we are providing accessibility provisions)? Does the shelter-in-place area need to be a smoke enclosure as well as the interconnected stairwell system?

Based on this will both the stairwell and the shelter-in-place need to be pressurized to meet design intent?

Both exterior and interior air is hazardous and a scrubber would be needed to inject air for stairwell pressurization.

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I am dealing with a Military building. It is an H-1 occupancy. The building is currently 4 stories high.

This is not allowed per IBC based on means of egress.

Has anyone made an argument based on UFC referring to NFPA 101 for means of egress related items to make an H-1 occupancy allowed to be more than 1 story?

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We have a dormitory project where, on the first floor, and entry lobby at the front entrance connects directly into a main corridor that runs the length of the dormitory. On either end of the corridor are exterior exits. There are also exit enclosures from the two upper levels that discharge to the exterior on both ends of the building. This project is under NFPA 101-2018 and is fully-sprinklered.

NFPA 101-2018 7.1.3.1 and 28.3.6 state the following:

7.1.3 Separation of Means of Egress.
7.1.3.1 Exit Access Corridors. Corridors used as exit access and serving an area having an occupant load exceeding 30 shall be separated from other parts of the building by walls having not less than a 1-hour fire resistance rating in accordance with Section 8.3, unless otherwise permitted by one of the following:
(1) This requirement shall not apply to existing buildings, provided that the occupancy classification does not change.
(2) This requirement shall not apply where otherwise provided in Chapters 11 through 43.

Because this is a new dormitory, Chapter 28 also applies:
28.3.6 Corridors.
28.3.6.1 Walls.
28.3.6.1.1 Exit access corridor walls shall comply with 28.3.6.1.2 or 28.3.6.1.3.
28.3.6.1.2 In buildings not complying with 28.3.6.1.3, exit access corridor walls shall consist of fire barriers in accordance
with Section 8.3 that have not less than a 1-hour fire resistance rating.
28.3.6.1.3 In buildings protected throughout by an approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system in accordance with
28.3.5, corridor walls shall have a minimum 1∕2-hour fire resistance rating.

Our question is - is the lobby, by code, considered part of the corridor (and therefore need to be rated)?

Two ways of looking at this - one is that the code is strictly only discussing requirements for the corridor and not a lobby. The other way of looking at it is that the lobby is acting as the corridor when it serves as part of the exit access for the building. 

Normally a 1/2-hour rating wouldn't make all that much of a difference, but there's storefront in the lobby space between an adjacent office and the lobby which would have a cost impact to the project.

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Are exits in industrial occupancies required to have panic hardware if the overall number of employees is 50 or more?

This is under NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, 2018 edition. Thanks.

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I'm working on an exercise studio with one big open room and dealing with a plan examiner who insists travel distance is measured along walls leading to an exit, rather than diagonally across the space. To me this is absurd. Thoughts?

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Within stairwells, how are standpipes addressed in regards to cane detection with ABA/ADA rules? Are there any special cane-detection requirements (anything special to allow a visually-impaired person to detect a vertical standpipe)?

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Are there any scenario where the means of egress can be routed from a corridor, through a room, to the exterior? Must all egress corridors discharge to the exterior?

I would assume panic hardware would have to be provided and the room couldn't have a means of being locked, but if a room is relatively low-hazard (like a classroom) could it be used for egress between a corridor and the exterior?

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A small core area of a two-story office building has two stairs. One is a traditional enclosed exit stair fire-rated at 1-hour. The other stair is intended to be an "open access stair". The project is under NFPA 101 for means of egress and is sprinkler protected under NFPA 13.

NFPA 101 Chapter 38 New Business Occupancies
   NFPA 101 38.3 Protection
      NFPA 101 38.3.1 Protection of Vertical Openings
         NFPA 101 38.3.1.1 Vertical openings shall be enclosed or protected in accordance with Section 8.6, unless otherwise permitted by any of the following: (4) Exit access stairs in accordance with 38.2.4.6 shall permitted to be unenclosed.

         NFPA 101 38.2.4.6 A single means of egress shall be permitted for a maximum two-story, single-tenant space or building provided that both of the following criteria are met:
            (1) The building is protected throughout by an approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system in accordance with 9.7.1.1(1).
            (2) The total travel to the outside does not exceed 100 ft.

The only way to have an unenclosed stair for this building is if the "total travel to the outside" can include travel through the unenclosed "exit access stair". 

Is it permissible to have one open stair and one enclosed stair with "total travel to the outside" going through the open access stair?

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I am currently dealing with a fire station that was constructed in 1965, prior to any adopted building codes in Indiana.

The fire station suffered structural and roof damage during a storm from a tree fall. My question is an exterior exit staircase from the second floor was damaged. A structural engineer assessed the staircase and addressed the items needing repaired, which is quite extensive and will need to be removed for repair. The staircase is far from meeting current code.

The insurance company does not want to pay for a new exterior stairway that would meet code, they want to have it repaired.

Is there any code requirement in the 2012 IBC that would require this stairway to be brought up to the 2012 IBC on an existing building?

The stairway is the original. I cannot for the life of me find a code section that would require this stairway to be code compliant if removed and repaired. If we can cite a code requirement for this to be code compliant the insurance will pay for a brand new stairway, which is our goal.

Any recommendations or prior experience with this type of situation would be greatly appreciated! (You would think the insurance would want a code compliant exit component, but I know its all about the $$$)

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Solution | Posted 10/21/19

Solution | Posted 10/17/19

Are calculated stair widths based on occupant loads based only on a single level that the stair is serving, or a cumulative (total) occupant load for all floors the stair serves? 

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I'm looking for basic to intermediate online training for means of egress and passive fire protection topics for myself and my team.

Any tips for finding quality continuing education in this arena? We work mostly with the IBC, but occasionally with NFPA 101 as well.

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Our project has a proposed layout includes convenience stairs next to a corridor that serves restrooms, utility spaces, and doors to large open office areas. It's a B-occupancy subject to NFPA 101 requirements.

As a side note, the International Building Code (2018) makes it clear that two-story openings are permitted in occupancies other than I-2 and I-3 when they meet certain limitations, per section 712.1.9. One of the limitations it that is it not open to a corridor, but that's in Group I or R occupancies only. Group I and R occupancies require special treatment for corridors.

NFPA 101 has similar provisions for Convenience Openings (Section 8.6.9). One of the requirements is that "such openings shall be separated from corridors", per section 8.6.9.1(3). If corridors in a building are not required to be separated (such as for an open-office B occupancy), does this requirement still apply, or is this section saying that we have to have rated corridors whenever we have convenience stair openings?

   8.6.9 Convenience Openings.
  8.6.9.1 Where permitted by Chapters 11 through 43, unenclosed vertical openings not concealed within the building construction shall be permitted as follows:
   (1) Such openings shall connect not more than two adjacent stories (one floor pierced only).
   (2) Such openings shall be separated from unprotected vertical openings serving other floors by a barrier complying
with 8.6.5.
   (3)* Such openings shall be separated from corridors.
   (4)* In other than approved, existing convenience openings, such openings shall be separated from other fire or smoke compartments on the same floor.
   (5) In new construction, the convenience opening shall be separated from the corridor referenced in 8.6.9.1(3) by a smoke partition, unless Chapters 11 through 43 require the corridor to have a fire resistance rating.
   (6)* Such openings shall not serve as a required means of egress.

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Our University is currently in design of an Applied Research Center which is configured as two lineal building bars separated by an atrium space. One bar will house our shipping and receiving area for chemicals, flammables, and hazardous waste storage. The other building bar will contain the majority of wet and dry labs for research.

The only pathway for transport of these chemicals, flammables and hazardous waste is designed to occur through the atrium space. Also, the only way to transport these items to second floor labs is by a passenger elevator located in the atrium. I can find no references in NFPA that prohibits utilizing the atrium for transporting these items.

Does anyone have any information on whether this process is acceptable or not? Thank you!

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Based on the energy code many buildings have vestibules with two lines of doors. At what point along the vestibule is travel distance taken? 

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