Compliance News: Arrangement of Means of Egress

By Robert Trotter, CBO, CFM

The 2000 edition of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code® requires all occupied rooms in a health care facility to have direct access to a corridor leading to an exit, or must be arranged to comply with one of the exemptions. The term “habitable room” does not include bathrooms, closets, and similar spaces as well as briefly occupied work spaces. Section 19.2.5.1 states “Every habitable room shall have an exit access door leading directly to an exit access corridor.” There are four exceptions to the prescriptive requirement:

Exception No. 1: If there is an exit door opening directly to the outside from the room at ground level.

Exception No. 2: Exit access from a patient sleeping room with not more than eight patient beds shall be permitted to pass through one intervening room to reach the exit access corridor.

Exception No. 3: Exit access from a special nursing suite shall be permitted to pass through one intervening room to reach the exit access corridor where the arrangement allows for direct and constant visual supervision by nursing personnel.

Exception No. 4: Exit access from a suite of rooms, other than patient sleeping rooms, shall be permitted to pass through not more than two adjacent rooms to reach the exit access corridor where the travel distance within the suite is in accordance with 19.2.5.8. [One intervening room if the travel distance within the suite to the exit access door does not exceed 100 feet (example pictured above) and two intervening rooms where the travel distance within the suite to the exit access door does not exceed 50 feet.]

Consult the Life Safety Code® for additional requirements related to suites of sleeping rooms, and suites of rooms, other than patient sleeping rooms.

Arrangement of Means of Egress – Corridors Leading to Two Exits

For health care occupancies Section 19.2.5.9 of the 2000 edition of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code® states “Every corridor shall provide access to not less than two approved exits in accordance with Sections 7.4 [number of means of egress] and 7.5 [arrangement of means of egress] without passing through any intervening rooms or spaces other than corridors or lobbies.” This would include prohibited travel through a suite, hazardous areas, and rehabilitation rooms such as the example pictured. It is important to note that every exit or exit access should be arranged, if practical and feasible, so that no corridor, passageway, or aisle has a pocket or dead end exceeding 30 feet. When updating life safety drawings, look for opportunities to create suites.

Arrangement of Means of Egress – Two Means of Egress

According to the 2000 edition of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code® the provision of 18/19.2.5.2 requires a second exit access door from any patient sleeping room or suite of sleeping rooms that exceeds 1000 square feet. Likewise, the provision of 18/19.2.5.3 requires a second exit access door from any non-sleeping room or suite of rooms other than sleeping that exceeds 2,500 square feet. The two exit access doors must be remotely located from each other. In order to comply with the remoteness requirement for exit access doors, consider the following:

1. The two exit access doors must be separated by a distance, d, that is one-third the room diagonal measurement, D, for sprinklered buildings.

2. The two exit access doors must be separated by a distance, d, that is one-half the room diagonal measurement, D, for non-sprinklered buildings.

This remote rule addresses the concern that a large area with only one exit access door might allow a fire near the door to grow to the extent that the path of travel would no longer provide a tenable egress path.