Design
and Construction Requirements for Exit Routes
This section contains requirements
for the design and construction of exit routes. It includes
a requirement that exit routes be permanent, addresses
fire resistance-ratings of construction materials used
in exit stairways (exits), describes openings into exits,
defines the minimum number of exit routes in workplaces,
addresses exit discharges, and discusses locked exit route
doors, and exit route doors. It also addresses the capacity,
height and width of exit routes, and finally, it sets
forth requirements for exit routes that are outside a
building.
Exit routes must meet the following design and
construction requirements [29 CFR 1910.36(a)]:
See OSHA's Demonstrative Exit
Routes #1 and
#2 to learn how
to apply the OSHA standards for exit routes.
For further assistance, consult
NFPA 101, Life
Safety Code. |
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| What
is an exit route? |
An
exit route is a continuous and unobstructed path
of exit travel from any point within a workplace
to a place of safety. An exit route consists of
three parts:
- Exit access -
29 CFR 1910.36(a)(3) portion
of an exit route that leads to an exit.
- Exit - portion of an exit route that is generally
separated from other areas to provide a protected
way of travel to the exit discharge.
- Exit discharge - part of the exit route that
leads directly outside or to a street, walkway,
refuge area, public way, or open space with
access to the outside.
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| Basic
requirements |
An exit route must be permanent. Each exit route
must be a permanent part of the workplace [29 CFR 1910.36(a)(1)].
An exit must be separated by fire resistant
materials. Construction materials used to separate
an exit from other parts of the workplace must have
a one-hour fire resistance-rating if the exit
connects three or fewer stories and a two-hour fire
resistance-rating if the exit connects four or more
stories [29 CFR 1910.36(a)(2)].
Openings into an exit must be limited. An exit is
permitted to have only those openings necessary
to allow access to the exit from occupied areas
of the workplace, or to the exit discharge. An opening
into an exit must be protected by a self-closing
fire door that remains closed or automatically closes
in an emergency upon the sounding of a fire alarm
or employee alarm system. Each fire door, including
its frame and hardware, must be listed or approved
by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. Section
29 CFR 1910.155(c)(3)(iv)(A)
of this part defines "listed" and
Appendix A of section
29 CFR 1910.7 defines a "nationally
recognized testing laboratory" [29 CFR 1910.36(a)(3)].
|
| Number of
exits |
The number of exit routes must be adequate [29 CFR 1910.36(b)].
At least two exit routes must be available in a
workplace to permit prompt evacuation of employees
and other building occupants during an emergency,
except as allowed in paragraph (b)(3) of this
section. The exit routes must be located as far away
as practical from each other so that if one exit
route is blocked by fire or smoke, employees can
evacuate using the second exit route [29 CFR 1910.36(b)(1)].
More than two exit routes must be available in a
workplace if the number of employees, the size of
the building, its occupancy, or the arrangement of
the workplace is such that all employees would not
be able to evacuate safely during an emergency [29 CFR 1910.36(b)(2)].
A single exit route is permitted where the number
of employees, the size of the building, its
occupancy, or the arrangement of the workplace is
such that all employees would be able to evacuate
safely during an emergency [29 CFR 1910.36(b)(3)].
Note to paragraph
29 CFR 1910.36(b):
For assistance in determining the number of exit
routes necessary for your workplace, consult
NFPA 101, Life Safety Code.
|
| Exit
discharge |
Each exit discharge must lead directly outside or to
a street, walkway, refuge area, public way, or open
space with access to the outside [29 CFR 1910.36(c)(1)].
The street, walkway, refuge area, public way, or
open space to which an exit discharge leads must be
large enough to accommodate the building occupants
likely to use the exit route [29 CFR 1910.36(c)(2)].
Exit stairs that continue beyond the level on
which the exit discharge is located must be
interrupted at that level by doors, partitions, or
other effective means that clearly indicate the
direction of travel leading to the exit discharge [29 CFR 1910.36(c)(3)].
|
| Locking
arrangements |
An exit door must be unlocked from the inside [29 CFR 1910.36(d)].
Employees must be able to open an exit route door
from the inside at all times without keys, tools, or
special knowledge. A device such as a panic bar that
locks only from the outside is permitted on exit
discharge doors [29 CFR 1910.36(d)(1)].
Exit route doors must be free of any device or
alarm that could restrict emergency use of the exit
route if the device or alarm fails [29 CFR 1910.36(d)(2)].
An exit route door may be locked from the inside
only in mental, penal, or correctional facilities
and then only if supervisory personnel are
continuously on duty and the employer has a plan to
remove occupants from the facility during an
emergency [29 CFR 1910.36(d)(3)].
|
| Door
swing |
A side-hinged exit door must be used [29 CFR 1910.36(e)].
A side-hinged door must be used to connect any
room to an exit route [29 CFR 1910.36(e)(1)].
The door that connects any room to an exit route
must swing out in the direction of exit travel if
the room is designed to be occupied by more than 50
people or if the room is a high hazard area (i.e.,
contains contents that are likely to burn with
extreme rapidity or explode) [29 CFR 1910.36(e)(2)].
|
| Height
and width requirements |
An exit route must meet minimum height and width
requirements [29 CFR 1910.36(g)]
The ceiling of an exit route must be at least
seven feet six inches (2.3 m) high. Any projection
from the ceiling must not reach a point less than
six feet eight inches (2.0 m) from the floor [29 CFR 1910.36(g)(1)].
An exit access must be at least 28 inches (71.1
cm) wide at all points. Where there is only one exit
access leading to an exit or exit discharge, the
width of the exit and exit discharge must be at
least equal to the width of the exit access [29 CFR 1910.36(g)(2)].
The width of an exit route must be sufficient to
accommodate the maximum permitted occupant load of
each floor served by the exit route [29 CFR 1910.36(g)(3)].
Objects that project into the exit route must not
reduce the width of the exit route to less than the
minimum width requirements for exit routes [29 CFR 1910.36(g)(4)].
|
| Outdoor
exit routes |
An outdoor exit route is permitted [29 CFR 1910.36(h)].
The outdoor exit route must have guardrails to protect
unenclosed sides if a fall hazard exists; [29 CFR 1910.36(h)(1)].
The outdoor exit route must be covered if snow or
ice is likely to accumulate along the route, unless
the employer can demonstrate that any snow or ice
accumulation will be removed before it presents a
slipping hazard [29 CFR 1910.36(h)(2)];
The outdoor exit route must be reasonably straight
and have smooth, solid, substantially level walkways;
and [29 CFR 1910.36(h)(3)]
The outdoor exit route must not have a dead-end
that is longer than 20 feet (6.2 m) [29 CFR 1910.36(h)(4)].
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