# Two Exits from a Catwalk?



## nealderidder (Apr 17, 2019)

I've got a two-story building with a very tall interstitial space between 1st and 2nd. Basically it's 20' 1st floor to 2nd floor and there is a catwalk hanging from the 2nd floor structure. The bottom of the catwalk is around 11' AFF and the 1st floor ceilings are at 10' (Suspend ACT). The building footprint is roughly 200' x 240'.

The catwalk is pretty extensive and has a trapeze on the side of it for conduit etc. I'm not sure how useful it is since you can only service the ceiling below within an arms reach of the catwalk. There are a couple of areas with bus bars that are accessed only from the catwalk.

We're adding some control areas on the first floor so we need fire barriers up to the 2nd floor deck. This will interrupt the catwalk in several areas. The catwalk is shown hatched on the attached and you'll see some "gaps" which is where the fire barriers will be. The places where the catwalk ends are at mechanical mezzanines. 

So the question is... What are the requirements for egress from this catwalk? I remember there being a section in the IBC one time that dealt with catwalks but it seems to have disappeared and the only mention now pertains to theater catwalks and accessible means of egress. I believe two exits were not required in that old section.

When do I need two exits? Is there a max. exit access distance? I'm on 2016 CBC.


Any input would be appreciated!


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## north star (Apr 17, 2019)

*$ ~ $ ~ $ ~ $*

From the *2003 IBC, Section 1014.6.1 - Gallery, Gridiron and Catwalk*
*Means of Egress: *  _"The means of egress from lighting and access catwalks ,_
_galleries and gridirons shall meet the requirements for occupancies in Group_
_F - 2.  Exceptions:  1.  A minimum width of 22 inches ( 559 mm ) is permitted_
_for lighting and access catwalks.  2.  Spiral stairs are permitted in the means of_
_egress.  3.  Stairways required by this sub-section need not be enclosed._
_4.  Stairways with a minimum width of 22 inches ( 559 mm ), ladders or spiral_
_stairs are permitted in the means of egress.  5.  A second means of egress is_
_not required from these areas where a means of escape to a floor or to a roof_
_is provided.  Ladders, alternating tread devices or spiral stairs are permitted in
the means of escape.  6.  Ladders are permitted in the means of egress".
_
This section is also listed in the 2006 IBC, at Section 1015.6.1.
_
** : * : * : * : **_


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## nealderidder (Apr 18, 2019)

Exactly, but where is it in 2016?


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## north star (Apr 18, 2019)

*# ~ # ~ #*

O.K., ...I have looked & looked & looked in the `16 CBC
to no avail........In the `13 CBC, Catwalk MOE is addressed in
Section 1015.6.1.......In the `13 Edition, it mentions using
the Occ. Group of F-2.........Can you apply this Occ. Group in
the `16 Edition ?........The term "Catwalks" is still referenced
in Section 410.7  in the `16 CBC.

Also, maybe some of the folks from California on here
will chime in...

*# ~ # ~ #*


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## Builder Bob (Apr 19, 2019)

Unable to find in 2015 IBC as well


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## north star (Apr 19, 2019)

*% " % " %*

In the `15 IBC, refer to Section 410.6.3.4  &  Section 410.7.

In the `16 CBC, ...1st refer to the definition of Technical Production Areas.
2nd, ...refer to Section 410.6.3.

Apparently the language referring to Catwalks is in the
Technical Production Areas.

*% " % " %*


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## nealderidder (Apr 23, 2019)

And there is a definition given for "Technical Production Area" which says  _...for entertainment technicians...for servicing entertainment technology...
_
The building maintenance guy is pretty funny but I doubt anyone would call him an "entertainment technician" and 2x4 light fixtures are probably not "entertainment technology".

All of section 410 is about theaters and the like. The only other sections that mention catwalks refer to ladders (1011.16) and accessibility (11B-203.4) which isn't required thank goodness.

I've got a meeting with the B.O. next week, we'll see what his take is on it.


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## ADAguy (Apr 26, 2019)

Nice catch, we await the B.O. response.
Sounds like a Building Standards Commission revision is necessary, wonder if this was caught for the 2019 CBC?
I'll check with DSA, we have lots of catwalks 
Consider:
1. Number of occupants usually < 10.
2. Exit from catwalk is first to the ground or floor below.
3. Not an assembly area
4. Serves a maintenance area.  
5. It is not a corridor
6. What does OSHA say?


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## ADAguy (Apr 26, 2019)

Mystery solved! see CBC 505.3 Equipment Platforms. 9/1/17 Errata


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## nealderidder (Apr 29, 2019)

Aha! Thank you ADAguy. I puzzled over the reason for the errata, it looks like they just changed "stairs" to "stairways".

This section does say that equipment platforms and the walkways providing access to them shall not serve as a part of the means of egress from the building. But is that the same as "no egress is required from these platforms" or are they just trying to prevent people from using a catwalk for egress from occupied spaces? I've got a meeting on Thursday with the B.O. 

More to follow...


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## ADAguy (Apr 30, 2019)

Use of Catwalks is for service personnel only; the general public typically does not have access to them.


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## Sophilac (Oct 29, 2019)

nealderidder said:


> Aha! Thank you ADAguy. I puzzled over the reason for the errata, it looks like they just changed "stairs" to "stairways".
> 
> This section does say that equipment platforms and the walkways providing access to them shall not serve as a part of the means of egress from the building. But is that the same as "no egress is required from these platforms" or are they just trying to prevent people from using a catwalk for egress from occupied spaces? I've got a meeting on Thursday with the B.O.
> 
> More to follow...



Hi Neal, I'm wondering if you had tha tmeeting with the B.O. and what came out of it regarding this issue?
Thank you.


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## cda (Oct 29, 2019)

Shanel Espinoza said:


> Hi Neal, I'm wondering if you had tha tmeeting with the B.O. and what came out of it regarding this issue?
> Thank you.




Welcome to the humble forum


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