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This section of the ShortCodes course will cover the code requirements related to life safety and egress.  Egress is the action of going out or leaving a place, and the means of egress describes the route that a building occupant travels along the exit access and the exit, to the exit discharge.

4A – Introduction to Life Safety and Egress

4B – Egress Terminology

A previous ShortCodes module (1C) included information about use groups and occupancy classifications, which designate the use of the building, room, or area.  In order to interpret the code requirements, we must determine which use groups or occupancy classifications apply, AND what the occupant load is.  For example, doors are required to swing in the direction of egress when serving an area with 50 occupants or more.  We need to calculate the occupant load so we will know whether the door is required to be outswinging.

4C – Calculating the Occupant Load

Each component of a means of egress - stairways, ramps, corridors, door openings, etc. - is required to provide enough egress capacity for the occupant load of the area it is serving.  This ensures that evacuation of the space can occur in a timely manner.  For example, if a large auditorium had only two 3-foot-wide doors for egress, it might take too long for the crowd to exit, which could affect life safety.

4D – Egress Width, Clear Width, and Projections

Egress doors are typically required to swing in the direction of egress when they're serving an occupant load of 50 people or more, but there are a few other locations where doors are required to be outswinging even if they are serving a lower occupant load.  There are also some situations where egress doors are not required to be swinging doors, and may be another type of door such as a horizontal sliding door or revolving door.

4E – Door Swing and Encroachment

The International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code include requirements which limit the opening force of egress doors.  This helps to ensure that doors in a means of egress can be easily opened by building occupants.

4F – Opening Force

When it comes to operable hardware, there are some common requirements between the model codes and the accessibility standards.  All of these codes and standards require hardware that can be operated without tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist, and the required mounting height is 34-48 inches above finished floor (AFF).  There is more information on the accessibility standards for operable hardware in ShortCodes 2F.

4G – Egress Requirements for Operable Hardware

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4H – Hardware for Pairs of Doors

Panic hardware may be used for durability, ease of operation, reduced need for maintenance, availability of electrified options, and sometimes even for aesthetics.  There are also locations where panic hardware is mandated by code.

4J – Panic Hardware and Fire Exit Hardware

Some rooms containing electrical equipment are required to have doors that are equipped with panic hardware or fire exit hardware.  This is a requirement of NFPA 70 - National Electrical Code (NEC), and the purpose is to allow technicians to exit easily in case of an accident within the room.

4K – Panic Hardware on Electrical Rooms

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