Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Exits: Two
exits shall be required for stories with less than 500 occupants. Three exits
shall be required for stories with 501 to 1,000 occupants. Four exits shall be
required for stories with more than 1,000 occupants. Two means of egress are
also required from all mezzanines with an occupant load greater than 50 or with
exit travel distance greater than 75 feet.
1.
When more than one exit is required, existing fire escapes shall be accepted as
providing one of the required means of egress unless judged to be dangerous for
use under emergency exiting conditions. For use of fire escapes, access shall
be through a door except when serving an occupant load of 10 or fewer. All
occupants shall have unobstructed access to fire escapes without having to pass
through a room subject to locking.
i. When
more than one exit is required and there is not sufficient space for an
exterior stair within the lot line, a new fire escape shall be accepted as
providing one of the required means of egress. Newly-installed fire escapes
shall comply with FTO-3.
ii.
Ladders shall be prohibited on fire escapes used as a required means of
egress.
2. A single exit
is permitted in the story at the level of exit discharge when the occupant load
of the story does not exceed 50 and the exit access travel distance does not
exceed 75 feet. (Plan review--Building, Fire. Inspection--Building)
(b) Egress Doorways: A minimum of
two egress doorways shall be required for all rooms and spaces with an occupant
load greater than 50 or in which the travel distance exceeds 75 feet. All
egress doors serving an occupant load greater than 50 shall swing in the
direction of exit travel.
1. Exception:
Storage rooms with a maximum occupant load of 10 shall not be required to have
two egress doorways.
2. All
required exit doors equipped with latching devices in buildings or spaces with
an occupant load greater than 100 shall be equipped with approved panic
hardware. (Plan review--Building, Fire. Inspection--Building)
(c) Capacity of Means of Egress:
The capacity of the means of egress in each work area shall be determined in
accordance with
5:23-6.11(b).
Additionally, for buildings with an occupant load of 100 or more, a main
entrance capable of serving as the main exit with an egress capacity for at
least one-half the total occupant load is required. The remaining exits shall
be capable of providing one-half of the total required exit capacity. This
provision shall not apply in buildings with multiple main entrances. (Plan
review--Building, Fire. Inspection--Building)
(d) Dead End Corridors: Existing dead end
corridors shall not exceed 65 feet in length. Exceptions are allowed as
follows:
1. Dead end corridors may be up to 50
feet in length in a building with an automatic alarm system installed in
conformance with the building code in effect at the time of its
installation.
2. Dead end corridors
may be up to 70 feet in length in a building with an automatic sprinkler system
installed in conformance with the building code in effect at the time of its
installation. (Plan review--Building, Fire. Inspection--Building)
(e) Means of Egress Lighting:
Artificial lighting with an intensity of not less than one foot candle at floor
level shall be required during all times that the conditions of occupancy of
the building require that the exits be available. Lighting shall also be
required to illuminate the exit discharge. In all buildings, rooms or spaces
required to have more than one exit or exit access, means of egress lighting
shall be connected to an emergency electrical system conforming to NFPA 70
(NEC) except that continued illumination shall be required to be provided for
not less than one hour in the case of primary power loss.
1. In buildings used for motion pictures or
other projections by means of directed light, the illumination of aisles may be
reduced during periods of projection to not less than 0.2 foot candle. The
switch requirements and location(s) for controlling egress lighting connected
to the emergency electrical system shall be in conformance with the NFPA 70
(NEC). (Plan review--Building, Fire, Electric. Inspection--Building)
(f) Illuminated Exit Signs:
Illuminated exit signs shall be provided for all required means of egress in
all buildings, rooms or spaces required to have more than one exit or exit
access. Exit signs shall be visible from the exit access and supplemented by
directional signs when necessary. (Exception: Approved main exterior doors that
are clearly identified as exits are not required to have exit signs.) Exit
signs shall meet the following criteria:
1.
Red or green letters at least six inches high; minimum width of each stroke 3/4
inch on a white background or in other approved distinguishable colors. Arrows,
if provided, shall be such that the direction cannot readily be changed. The
word "Exit" shall be clearly discernible when the sign is not
energized.
2. Exit signs shall be
illuminated at all times when the building is occupied by a source providing at
least five foot candles at the illuminated surface or shall be approved
self-luminous signs which provide evenly illuminated letters with a minimum
luminance of 0.06 foot lamberts. Exit signs shall be connected to an emergency
electrical system conforming to NFPA 70 (NEC) except that continued
illumination shall be required to be provided for not less than one hour in the
case of primary power loss. No emergency power shall be required for approved
self-luminous signs. (Plan review--Building, Fire.
Inspection--Building)
(g) Handrails: Every required exit stairway
having three or more risers and not provided with handrails or in which the
existing handrails are in danger of collapsing when used under emergency
exiting conditions, shall be provided with handrails for the full length of the
run of steps on at least one side. All exit stairways more than 66 inches wide
shall have handrails on both sides unless the full width of the stairway is not
needed to accommodate the design occupancy. (Plan review--Building, Fire.
Inspection--Building)
(h) Guards:
Every open portion of a stair, landing or balcony which is more than 30 inches
above the floor or grade below and is not provided with guards or those in
which the existing guards are in danger of collapsing when used under emergency
exiting conditions, shall be provided with guards. (Plan review--Building,
Fire. Inspection--Building)
(i)
Vertical Opening Protection: Vertical opening protection for interior stairways
and other vertical openings shall be provided as follows. Stairways are not
required to be enclosed where all portions of the means of egress are
essentially open to the outside.
1. For
vertical openings connecting more than six floor levels, approved assemblies
having a fire resistance rating of not less than two hours with approved
opening protectives shall be required.
2. For vertical openings connecting four to
six floor levels, approved assemblies having a fire resistance rating of not
less than one hour with approved opening protectives shall be
required.
3. For vertical openings
not exceeding three stories, a minimum 30-minute UFC fire barrier shall be
required. Exceptions are as follows:
i. When
connecting the main floor and mezzanines; or
ii. When all of the following conditions are
met:
(1) The communicating area has a low
hazard occupancy or has a moderate hazard occupancy which is protected
throughout by an automatic sprinkler system;
(2) The lowest or next to the lowest level is
a street floor;
(3) The entire area
is open and unobstructed in a manner such that it may be assumed that a fire in
any part of the interconnected spaces will be readily obvious to all of the
occupants;
(4) Exit capacity is
sufficient to provide egress simultaneously for all the occupants of all levels
by considering all areas to be a single floor area for the determination of
required exit capacity; and
(5)
Each floor level, considered separately, has at least one-half of its
individual required exit capacity provided by an exit or exits leading directly
out of that level without having to traverse another communicating floor level
or be exposed to the smoke or fire spreading from another communicating floor
level. (Plan review--Building, Fire. Inspection--Building)
(j) Structural
Elements: Structural elements which are uncovered during the course of the
rehabilitation and which are found to be unsound or otherwise structurally
deficient, shall be reinforced, supported or replaced in accordance with the
applicable structural design criteria of the building subcode. Where structural
elements are sound, there is no excessive deflection (defined as deflection in
excess of the standards set forth in
5:23-6.7(c)1 ) ,
and fixed loads are not changing in a way that will increase the stresses on
existing structures beyond that which is permitted by
5:23-6.7(c),
existing structural elements shall be permitted to remain. (Building)
(k) Plumbing Fixtures: Plumbing fixtures
shall be provided as required by Table 7.21.1 of the plumbing subcode. Where
the plumbing subcode allows for the substitution or omission of fixtures, such
substitutions or omissions shall also be permitted under this section.
(Plumbing)
(l)
Mechanical Requirements: All spaces intended for occupancy shall be provided
with either natural or mechanical ventilation.
1. Spaces intended to be naturally ventilated
shall be provided with openable doors, windows, louvers, or other openings to
the outdoors. The minimum openable area to the outdoors shall be four percent
of the floor area being ventilated. Where rooms without openings to the
outdoors are ventilated through an adjoining room, the unobstructed opening to
the adjoining room shall be at least eight percent of the floor area of the
interior room or space, but not less than 25 square feet. The ventilation
openings to the outdoors shall be based on the total floor area being
ventilated.
2.
Mechanically-ventilated spaces shall comply with the following:
i. Newly-installed HVAC systems shall comply
with the requirements of the mechanical subcode.
ii. Existing systems that are altered or
extended shall not reduce the amount of outside air below the existing rate per
person or the rate included in the mechanical subcode, whichever is lower. As a
minimum, mechanically-ventilated spaces shall be provided with five CFM per
person of outdoor air and 15 CFM of ventilation air per person.
3. All newly-introduced devices,
equipment or operations that produce airborne particulates, odors, fumes,
sprays, vapors, smoke or gases in such quantities to be irritating or injurious
to health shall be provided with local exhaust. (Building)
(m) Interior finishes shall comply with
5:23-6.11(c).
(Plan review--Building, Fire. Inspection--Building)
(n) Specific Occupancy Areas: Specific
occupancy areas within the work area, as listed in
5:23-6.30(h),
shall comply with the requirements established in that section for separation
and/or protection. (Building)
