I received today’s Wordless Wednesday photos from a retired AHJ, and they got me thinking about curtains. We know that egress doors can not be obscured by curtains – the model codes specifically prohibit that. But where do the codes address egress through curtains that are not near a door?
The situation in the photos looks non-compliant to me – the exit is concealed, not to mention the items stored in the egress path. But what if the curtains were across a corridor, 50 feet from the egress door? A cross-corridor door would be permitted (if it allowed free egress)…how about a cross-corridor curtain?
I haven’t found a specific reference to this question in the codes yet. If you’re an AHJ reading this…help us out?!
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Lori,
The 2018 Int’l Fire Code is very specific about this on a number of points. Sec 1003.3.4 and 1003.6, Clear width. 1031.6 even states Hangings and draperies cannot block an exit. Kevin
Perfect! Thanks Kevin!
– Lori
not an AHJ, and I was looking for something else, but I just read IBC 806.1.3: “Furnishings or other objects shall not be placed to obstruct exits, access thereto, egress therefrom or visibility thereof.” Section 806 describes curtains as “decorative materials” later on.
We don’t walk through light-blocking curtains nowadays to get to auditorium / theater seating, either.
Thanks Joel!
– Lori
It’s rare that we see someone question a reasonable citation like obscuring the corridor or robbing egress width, etc. As you note the verbiage may not exactly speak to any random issue, but very often we just cite them the one we feel covers it and let them “prove” we’re wrong. With things like this, they don’t even try. We should be accurate, detailed and knowledgeable in our field, which makes us the experts and as an AHJ, you can’t afford to be wrong on a regular basis, but, we routinely see issues that require interpretation and are not covered in detail, thus having occupant safety as the priority provides a basis to defend your decision.