# Multiple Means of Egress - One Exit Blocked



## Mech (May 13, 2013)

2009 IBC

Existing Building with a proposed addition.

There are 3 exit doors, one of which is located in an existing conference room.  This conference room (total occupant load = 221 people) utilizes a code reader to limit access from the office area.  The conference room exit door capacity is 160 people.  The remaining 61 people need to egress back through the office area.  (The doors are not locked to occupants inside the room.)

1005.1 Minimum required egress width.

The _means of egress _width shall not be less than required by this section. The total width of _means of egress_ in inches (mm) shall not be less than the total _occupant load_ served by the _means of egress_  multiplied by 0.3 inch (7.62 mm) per occupant for stairways and by 0.2  inch (5.08 mm) per occupant for other egress components. The width shall  not be less than specified elsewhere in this code. *Multiple **means of egress** shall be sized such that the loss of any one **means of egress**  shall not reduce the available capacity to less than 50 percent of the  required capacity.* The maximum capacity required from any _story_ of a building shall be maintained to the termination of the _means of egress_.

Exception: Means of egress complying with Section 1028.

When sizing multiple means of egress to ensure 50% capacity in case one of the three exit doors is blocked, can I utilize this conference room door as being available?  I am thinking I can because the door is at full capacity using occupants in this room alone.

What say you?


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

Well not sure of your thought process , hope the 61 people know to use the other exit

Your exiting is possible if you meet the intervening room rule

And the doors have panic hardware on the egress side

A little hard to give a solid answer with out a floor plan


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## Mech (May 13, 2013)

Here's a sketch.





Assume either Exit 1 or 2 is blocked.


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

Sorry forgot panic hardware is a,h,e

Cannot find door swing thought it was 100

Have you taken into account travel distance, cpet

And how the new addition will figure into all this


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

1014.2 Egress through intervening spaces. Egress through intervening spaces shall comply with this section.

1. Egress from a room or space shall not pass through adjoining or intervening rooms or areas, except where such adjoining rooms or areas and the area served are accessory to one or the other, are not a Group H occupancy and provide a discernible path of egress travel to an exit.

Exception: Means of egress are not prohibited through adjoining or intervening rooms or spaces in a Group H, S or F occupancy when the adjoining or intervening rooms or spaces are the same or a lesser hazard occupancy group.

2. An exit access shall not pass through a room that can be locked to prevent egress.

3. Means of egress from dwelling units or sleeping areas shall not lead through other sleeping areas, toilet rooms or bathrooms.

4. Egress shall not pass through kitchens, storage rooms, closets or spaces used for similar purposes.

Exceptions:

1. Means of egress are not prohibited through a kitchen area serving adjoining rooms constituting part of the same dwelling unit or sleeping unit.

2. Means of egress are not prohibited through stockrooms in Group M occupancies when all of the following are met:

2.1. The stock is of the same hazard classification as that found in the main retail area;

2.2. Not more than 50 percent of the exit access is through the stockroom;

2.3. The stockroom is not subject to locking from the egress side; and

2.4. There is a demarcated, minimum 44-inch-wide (1118 mm) aisle defined by full- or partial-height fixed walls or similar construction that will maintain the required width and lead directly from the retail area to the exit without obstructions.


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

Sorry it is 50

Doors shall swing in the direction of egress travel where serving an occupant load of 50 or more persons or a Group H occupancy.


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## RLGA (May 13, 2013)

If a door is a standard 3'-0" door, you'll have a clear width of about 33.5".  This means that each door has a capacity of 167 occupants.  Therefore, two doors will provide the required capacity for an occupant load of 221.

However, any door that can be used for egress, even those in excess of what is required, must comply with all requirements for egress doors.  Thus, all doors must swing in the direction of egress travel, since the occupant load served (221) exceeds 50.  This also means any egress door downstream along egress path; thus, the swing direction of some of the corridor doors will need to be reversed.

It appears the loss of any one door will not reduce the capacity to less than 50%.

Passage through the office area, in my opinion, would be acceptable.  I have seen many conference rooms located in the center of open office areas, which means all egress doors from the conference room pass through the office area.


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## Mech (May 13, 2013)

CPET is good when no exits are blocked.  I never read that CPET has to be figured with an exit blocked.

Door swing is set to open in direction of travel.  If it opens against direction of travel, only 49 occupants were assumed to pass through the door.

The only question I had was the existing conference room and the electronically locked doors.


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> CPET is good when no exits are blocked.  I never read that CPET has to be figured with an exit blocked.Door swing is set to open in direction of travel.  If it opens against direction of travel, only 49 occupants were assumed to pass through the door.
> 
> The only question I had was the existing conference room and the electronically locked doors.


If the conference room is allowed as a means of egress

To me at least one door  going into the conference room would have to swing into the room.

That door would have to meet requirements for locking hardware for a code complying exit door

No cpet is not based on a blocked exit

Building Code: Common Path of Travel | M Group Blog

NFPA :: News & Publications :: NFPA Journal® :: Archived Issues :: November/December 2008 :: Columns


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## JPohling (May 13, 2013)

I do not know how your getting an occupant load of 221 in that conference room as shown?  Other than that it looks doable.


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

JPohling said:
			
		

> I do not know how your getting an occupant load of 221 in that conference room as shown?  Other than that it looks doable.


It would be around 3300 sq ft

May be the 221 comes from the occupant load of the entire office area


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## RLGA (May 13, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> Door swing is set to open in direction of travel.  If it opens against direction of travel, only 49 occupants were assumed to pass through the door.


That is incorrect.  It is not based on the number of occupants determined to egress the door, it is based on the number of occupants in total that is served by that door.  Here's the excerpt from the _Commentary_:

A side-hinged door must swing in the direction of

egress travel where the required occupant capacity of

the room is 50 or more. As such, a room with two

doors and an occupant load of 99 would require both

doors to swing in the direction of egress travel, even

though each door has a calculated occupant usage of

less than 50.


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## Mech (May 13, 2013)

JPohling said:
			
		

> I do not know how your getting an occupant load of 221 in that conference room as shown?  Other than that it looks doable.


1038 sf @ 5 sf/person standing room = 208 people and there are other areas inside the electronically locked double doors to increase the load to 221.



			
				RGLA said:
			
		

> That is incorrect.  It is not based on the number of occupants  determined to egress the door, it is based on the number of occupants in  total that is served by that door.  Here's the excerpt from the _Commentary_: A side-hinged door must swing in the direction of
> 
> egress travel where the required occupant capacity of
> 
> ...


RLGA - Is this saying a room requiring two exits with an occupant load of 51 would require both doors to open in the direction of travel?


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> 1038 sf @ 5 sf/person standing room = 208 people and there are other areas inside the electronically locked double doors to increase the load to 221.RLGA - Is this saying a room requiring two exits with an occupant load of 51 would require both doors to open in the direction of travel?


Yeppers

If there are some tables and chairs in the conference room, you could go to 15, but would not matter still over 50


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## RLGA (May 13, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> RLGA - Is this saying a room requiring two exits with an occupant load of 51 would require both doors to open in the direction of travel?


Yes, both doors would need to swing in the direction of egress travel.


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## AegisFPE (May 13, 2013)

The 2012 makes it clearer that both doors need to swing in the direction of egress travel.


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## cda (May 13, 2013)

RLGA said:
			
		

> Yes, both doors would need to swing in the direction of egress travel.


But if the building goes down to only two exits, the rest of the office might use the doors going into the conference room, to get to door 3. So it seems you need one door swing one way and the other swing opposite


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## RLGA (May 13, 2013)

What is more likely, a large group egressing out of the conference room or some occupants having to exit through the conference room?

Besides, the office area adjacent to the conference room probably has an occupant load that is less than 50 and would not require any doors to swing in the direction of egress travel.


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## cda (May 14, 2013)

But if you take the entire building down to only two exits

There is a possibility of a lot of people going towards door 3

Plus the code does not in a way take which exit a person might use.

Plus if door swing is not correct, there might be a dead end corridor issue

I think the exiting trying to be done is not good


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## LGreene (May 14, 2013)

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly...are you asking if people can travel through the existing conference room to get to Exit 3?  Exit 3 can serve the existing conference room, but in addition to the door swing issue on the door leading to that conference room, the door is locked on the office side, correct?


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## cda (May 14, 2013)

that is what I have been trying to say, finally I get one more vote!!!!!!


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## RLGA (May 14, 2013)

What is the occupant load of the entire area?  Are three exits required, or, in other words, does the total occupant load exceed 500?

If not, then Exit 3 need only serve the conference room.  If the door into the corridor for the office area in the lower left of the building is reversed in swing direction and not locked, then a dead end condition would not exist.


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## cda (May 14, 2013)

Sorry all I got wayyyyy off base.

Went back and read op and finally clicked

New position is

1 look to see if the entire office can exit per code using door 1 and 2. Only

2 if the answer to # 1 is yes, then do not try to exit anyone from the office through the conference room

3 except the people in the conference room and the two rooms on

The conference room side of the doors

4 the conference room still is required two exits, and the door hardware has to meet code, so no card reader to egress the conference room to the office area


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## cda (May 14, 2013)

Finally agree with rlga in this set up because of the occupant load, if you only have two exits and lose one, you are still good to go, since not over the 50% rule


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## Mech (May 14, 2013)

cda said:
			
		

> Sorry all I got wayyyyy off base.Went back and read op and finally clicked
> 
> New position is
> 
> ...


My original analysis was

1. All three exits required to meet code.  Occupant Load > 500.  Exit 3 serves the existing conference room and cannot handle that entire room occupant load.  The remaining occupants must egress to Exit 1 or Exit 2.

2. Do not exit any through the existing conference room exterior door

3. except those in the conference room or 2 rooms on conference room side of doors.

4. Double door hardware cannot require card reader to egress conf. room to office area.



			
				LGreene said:
			
		

> I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly...are you asking if  people can travel through the existing conference room to get to Exit 3?   Exit 3 can serve the existing conference room, but in addition to the  door swing issue on the door leading to that conference room, the door  is locked on the office side, correct?


The doors are locked on the office side.  Exit 3 only serves the existing conference room.  Per code, the conf. room OL = 221 and Exit 3 door capacity = 160.  Even if there is no lock on the door and one door swings into the conference room from the office, Exit 3 is still maxed out by the conference room OL alone.

Can Exit 3 be used to determine if 50% egress capacity exists if either Exit 1 or Exit 2 is blocked?  I am thinking yes.  The doors are locked, but Exit 3 is still available to those in the conference room.


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## mtlogcabin (May 14, 2013)

Assembly areas are based on the net floor area not gross. 5 sq ft per person is okay for queue  areas or concerts but I believe it is excessive for a conference room. 7 sq ft per person would be more likely in a standing room  event such as an office party or something similar, This would bring your OL down to 148 which can be handled by one 3'0" door. In reality there will most likely be tables and chairs used in this room



> Can Exit 3 be used to determine if 50% egress capacity exists if either Exit 1 or Exit 2 is blocked?  I am thinking yes.  The doors are locked, but Exit 3 is still available to those in the conference room


 NO Exit 3 is limited to the occupants using the conference room at the time an event may happen and it will meet the 50% rule for that space. It is not an exit that is available to all occupants at all times the building is occupied. The building has less than 500 occupants so only two exits are required. Exits 1 & 2 are sized properly to meet the 50% requirement. My questions are the 3'0" door leading to the office space and exit #2 sized properly for the OL leading to exit #2? Will that door be able to be locked?


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## cda (May 14, 2013)

I think you need to recalculate the entire buildings occupant load

Because if you need three exits to handle the entire building, then to me door 3 has to be code compliant for the entire building, not just people in that area.


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## mtlogcabin (May 14, 2013)

cda said:
			
		

> I think you need to recalculate the entire buildings occupant loadBecause if you need three exits to handle the entire building, then to me door 3 has to be code compliant for the entire building, not just people in that area.


  Agree     107.2.3 Means of egress.The construction documents shall show in sufficient detail the location, construction, size and character of all portions of the means of egress in compliance with the provisions of this code. In other than occupancies in Groups R-2, R-3, and I-1,         *the construction documents shall designate the number of occupants to be accommodated on every floor, and in all rooms and spaces.     *



Yes and do not count all of the occupants in one room using the closest exit.


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## mark handler (May 14, 2013)

I also agree with Ron

just a side note, two of the doors show on the drawings do not meet accessibility requirements for doors


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## Mech (May 15, 2013)

cda said:
			
		

> I think you need to recalculate the entire buildings occupant load


I will recalculate the occupant load using 7 net for the conference rooms.

Lobby Occupant Load Determination - This office area supports an attached 250,000 sf manufacturing building.  The waiting area at the upper left of the sketch is 593 sf, including the vestibule, and has limited seating and a small round table or two that you could perform some paperwork at.  Would you take this area at 5 sf net, 7 sf net, or something else?  I used 5 net, erring on the safe side, and calculated 121 people (including 2 people in the little closet rooms) in the lobby alone.



			
				mark handler said:
			
		

> just a side note, two of the doors show on the drawings do not meet accessibility requirements for doors


I think you are talking about the door at the hallway / lobby and the door at the other end of this hallway.  Both of these doors are existing.  New doors will meet accessibility requirements.


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## cda (May 15, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> I will recalculate the occupant load using 7 net for the conference rooms.Lobby Occupant Load Determination - This office area supports an attached 250,000 sf manufacturing building.  The waiting area at the upper left of the sketch is 593 sf, including the vestibule, and has limited seating and a small round table or two that you could perform some paperwork at.  Would you take this area at 5 sf net, 7 sf net, or something else?  I used 5 net, erring on the safe side, and calculated 121 people (including 2 people in the little closet rooms) in the lobby alone.
> 
> I think you are talking about the door at the hallway / lobby and the door at the other end of this hallway.  Both of these doors are existing.  New doors will meet accessibility requirements.


I hate to say you are killing yourself on your occupant load calcs.

Even myself I am not that tough when reviewing a set of plans.


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## RLGA (May 15, 2013)

I agree with cda, don't overdo it on the occupant load calculations.  5sf/occupant is considered "standing room only" like in a theater lobby awaiting entrance into the theater.  7sf/occupant is more reasonable and 15sf/occupant is more realistic (the entire lobby area will not be filled with chairs).


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## mark handler (May 15, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> I think you are talking about the door at the hallway / lobby and the door at the other end of this hallway.  Both of these doors are existing.  New doors will meet accessibility requirements.


Existing or not, the exiting doors do not comply.

One of the doors is in the "new conference room"


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## Mech (May 15, 2013)

I missed that new door into the conference room after looking at it dozens of times.


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## mark handler (May 15, 2013)

Mech said:
			
		

> I missed that new door into the conference room after looking at it dozens of times.


That why we are here, to help each other...sometimes we get so focused on one issue and miss others....


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