# Can an elevator be the only means of egress from a small residential below grade parking garage?



## huancp (Mar 6, 2021)

The project is located in San Francisco, CA. It's a three story building with an underground parking garage for three dwelling units. Elevator access is available to all floors. The parking garage (Type U occ) is ~1975sf so the occupant load would be 10. This means that we only need one exit (as far as I can tell). Will the elevator satisfy all means of egress requirements? The elevator from the garage would lead up to the ground floor lobby from which the occupants can exit through an exit door to the public way. I feel like having an elevator as the only means of egress seems dangerous, and that I'm probably missing something in the code that prohibits this but I am unable to locate it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## e hilton (Mar 6, 2021)

How do cars get in?  Gated entry?   Roll up door?   Inclined drive or straight in level?


----------



## cda (Mar 6, 2021)

Welcome

Besides not meeting travel distance 

Shall have code compliant exit system,,, unless meeting an exception.

Plus when they turn the power off?????


----------



## huancp (Mar 6, 2021)

e hilton said:


> How do cars get in?  Gated entry?   Roll up door?   Inclined drive or straight in level?


Roll up door opens up to a decline drive down to the parking spaces


----------



## e hilton (Mar 6, 2021)

Ok, thats not going to work.  RU door won’t open in power outage, elevator is dead.   Slope of the drive is too steep.


----------



## cda (Mar 6, 2021)

Add a stair , plus the elevator


----------



## huancp (Mar 6, 2021)

e hilton said:


> Ok, thats not going to work.  RU door won’t open in power outage, elevator is dead.   Slope of the drive is too steep.


I agree that it's not going to work based purely on common sense, and I'm not planning on having only the elevator as a means of egress I will add a stair or ramp. I'm just trying to figure out if there a code section that prohibits this because I can't find it. Thanks


----------



## huancp (Mar 6, 2021)

cda said:


> Add a stair , plus the elevator


I will add a stair, I'm just trying to see what point I'm missing in terms of code requirement. Why can't we have just an elevator as a means of egress if only one is required based on the code? Aside from common sense of course.


----------



## e hilton (Mar 7, 2021)

huancp said:


> I will add a stair, I'm just trying to see what point I'm missing in terms of code requirement.


2015 IBC 1003.7 Elevators, escalators ... shall not be used as a component of a required means of egress ...

There are exceptions, something tells me you won’t qualify, read the book.


----------



## cda (Mar 7, 2021)

What he said, what she said, what I said,,,,,,,  More important what the good book says.


----------



## classicT (Mar 8, 2021)

*2020 San Fran Building Code*

*1003.7 Elevators, Escalators and Moving Walks*
Elevators, escalators and moving walks shall not be used as a component of a required means of egress from any other part of the building.

*Exception:* Elevators used as an accessible means of egress in accordance with Section 1009.4.


----------

