NFPA 101: Life Safety Code Module 3: Egress Sizing and Arrangement

Egress Sizing

Means of Egress must be sized to accommodate all people occupying a building. Occupant load of a floor
is matched to egress capacity of components to size components. Provide for rapid enough movement
to minimize risk to life. Detailed in 7.3

Calculating Capacity:

1. Determine Occupant Load of a building or area: depends on the nature of the use of a building
and the amount of space available for this use. Table 7.3.1.2 gives occupant load factors for
each use in square area per person.
2. Determine clear width of components: measured in the clear at narrowest point of the egress
component, unless specific procedures are specified
3. Determine Capacity of Components: depends on the nature of the occupancy. Table 7.3.3.1
gives egress capacity for approved components in width per person depending on occupancy.
4. Determine Most Restrictive Component: after calculating capacity of all egress components on
an egress path, determine which component is the most restrictive
5. Determine if egress capacity is sufficient: the most restrictive capacity should meet or exceed
the occupant load

Occupant Load:

Found by dividing floor area assigned to a use by the occupant load factor for that use.

Occupant load is the total number of persons that might occupy a building/area at any one time

All Occupant Load factors are expressed for gross floor area unless marked net. Gross floor area is floor
area within the inside perimeter of the outside walls of a building

including hallways, stairs, closets, thickness of interior walls,

columns, elevator shafts,

excluding floor openings from atriums/mezzanines

In example here, blue lines are handrails overlooking atrium, so the

blue line enclosed area is subtracted from area of square building

Net area is the floor area that is available for the use, excluding the hallways, stairs, closets, thickness of
interior walls, columns, elevator shafts

Example 2: 284 ft x 150 ft floor space, with two conference rooms with net area of 300 sqft each and
remaining area being offices

284 x 150 = 42600 sqft

Conference rooms are counted as less concentrated assembly use without fixed seating, 15 ft/person
using net area.

The offices are considered business use (other), 150 ft/person

42600 sqft – 2*300 sqft = 42000 sqft offices

42000/150+600/15 = 280+40 = 320 persons

Width of the means of egress is measured at the

narrowest point of component. Projections within the
means of egress <=4.5 inches on each are permitted at
a height <=38 inches

Stair/landing handrails are permitted at height of

<=42inches

Projections are permitted in corridors for healthcare

and ambulatory occupancies, with specific
requirements detailed in their chapters.

Use capacity factors for a component in Table 7.3.3.1, 0.2 in/prsn for level travel and ramps and 0.3
in/prsn for stairs for most occupancies

Divide the component’s clear width by the capacity factor to find the component capacity.

e.g. For a door providing access to an exit stair, capacity factor of door is 0.2 in/prsn

To determine the most restrictive, identify all components and capacity factors, calculate capacity for all
components, the one with the lowest capacity is the most restrictive component in that means of
egress. You must find the most restrictive for each means of egress.

Finally, Egress Capacity >= Occupant Load.

e.g. If most restrictive in a means of egress is the stairs with 150 person capacity, there are two stairs,
and occupant load is 320, then 150*2 must be greater than 320, which it is not. Thus, the clear width of
the most restrictive must be increased until it meets occupant load, assuming another component does
not becoming the most restrictive in the process. For 320 load, divide by 2 for each of the stairs, for a
load of 160 per stair, multiple load per stair by capacity factor for a stair, 160*0.3 = 48 inches clear
width. Ensure that all other components can handle a capacity of 160, or else increase that component’s
clear width as well until it can.
 Where egress stair serves more than one story:

The occupant load of each story is considered

separately to determine the required capacity at that
story. At top floor, total load 200 split between 2 stairs
for load of 100 per stair, such that stairs at the
immediate level below require an egress capacity of
100. For the 2nd floor from the floor, load of 150 per
stair means the stairs below require an egress capacity
of 150.

However, required egress capacity should not be

decreased in direction of egress. The 3rd floor from the
top has a load of 100, but the capacity of the stairs
below should be 150, the highest capacity seen so far.
Thus, where an exit stair serves more than one story,
the stair’s required egress capacity must accommodate
the largest occupant load sent to the stair by any floor

The 3rd floor features convergence at stair landing, of 200 load from 4th floor and 100 load from 2nd
floor (3rd floor exists directly elsewhere), so the remainder of the egress path after the stair landing
must have a capacity of 300 total.

For new buildings where more than one means of egress is required:

If any one means of egress is lost (assuming the one with most capacity), the remaining means of egress
must provide >= 50% of the required capacity.

Minimum number of means of egress is identified in the specific occupancy chapter x.2.4

Typical is 2 means of egress for load<500, 3 for 500<=load<1000, 4 for 1000<=load

There are some occupancies where only one means of egress is permitted in certain arrangements
Two means of egress is required for business occupancies. The exit portion of each of the two required
means of egress must be located on the same story, so that the occupants of that story do not have to
travel vertically along an exit access path to a different floor to reach an exit

Some occupancies, specifically industrial and storage occupancies, are allowed to use one enclosed exit
stair and one unenclosed stair to meet the two exit requirement, in certain contexts.

For new and existing business occupancies, a single exit is permitted for a room/area/floor if:

1. Occupant load < 100

2. Exit discharges directly to outside at LED
3. Total distance of travel <= 100 ft
4. Stairs do not exceed 15 ft in height

Egress Arrangement

Egress paths must meet requirements for minimum width, common path of travel, and dead-end
corridor length.

Minimum width requirement for means of egress: 36in for new, 28in for existing

Exemption from 36in rule is allowed if individual minipath (as narrow as 28in at a height >38in and as
narrow as 18in at a height <38in) if it does not require >6 people to travel >50ft

For business occupancies, clear width of corridor serving occupant load of >=50 must be >=44in

Maximum distance occupant is allowed to travel to nearest exit, based on factors as:

 Physical characteristics of occupants and movement rate

 Type/number of obstructions occupants must travel around
 Number of people in any room/space
 Distance from farthest point in room to door opening
 Amount/nature of combustibles in occupancy
 Rapidity with which ire may spread (based on construction type, materials used,
compartmentation, presence/absence of automatic fire detection and sprinkler systems).
Travel distance is measured:

1. Starting at most remote point occupied

2. On the floor/walking surface
3. Along centerline of natural path of travel
4. Around corners or obstructions with clearance of 12 inches
5. Over open exit access ramps and stairs in the plane of tread nosings
6. Ends at center point of nearest exit door

Here the exit door is the second floor door to enclosed stairwell, but if it wasn’t enclosed, the exit door
would be the first floor door. If there was an outside stair lacking a door that served as the required exit,
the travel distance would terminate at the leading nosing of the stair landing at floor level.

Common Path of Travel: Measured the same as travel distance, but terminates at the point where two
separate routes to two different exits become available. Paths that merge with other paths are common
paths of travel.

Common paths of travel, if permitted by occupancy chapter, must not exceed limits of 7.5.1.1

e.g. Rault Center Building Fire 1972, common paths illustrated

Base rule: a common path of travel must not exceed 75 feet

For new business occupancies,

100 ft permitted if entire building is protected with automatic sprinklers

100 ft permitted if common path is entirely in a single-tenant space with occupant load <=30.

For existing business occupancies,

100 ft permitted if the story in which the path occurs is protected by automatic sprinklers

unlimited permitted if common path is entirely in a single-tenant space with occupant load <=30

Common path exists where occupants must travel in only one direction to reach their required exit,
terminating at point where the occupants have two paths of travel to two exits

Dead End Corridors: occupant enters a corridor, looking for an exit, and is forced to retrace his path to
actually reach an exit. Such a situation necessitates limits on dead end corridors. For business
occupancies, they must be <=20ft for new with autosprinklers, <=50ft for new without autosprinklers,
<=50 ft for existing.

Remote exits: exits must not only be separate, but remote from one another, reducing chance they are
both obstructed. Exits at each end of a long corridor or at each end of a side of a building are remote.

7.5.1.3.2 puts dimensional requirements on remoteness for new buildings, requiring exits be >=1/2 the
largest diagonal in the floor or room the exits are serving. For buildings protected by autosprinklers, the
requirement is reduced to >=1/3 the largest diagonal. New AND existing must satisfy the qualitative
remoteness requirement.
In the example on the right, note that a single incident could block Exit 2 and the exit access corridor
leading to Exit 1, effectively blocking Exit 1. In the example on the left, note that a single incident could
block the exit discharge paths of both Exit and Exit 2 to the public way. Neither is compliant.

For new construction where more than two means of

egress are required, at least two exit accesses, two exits,
and two exit discharges must be remotely located from
each other.

In the example on the left, Exit 2 and Exit 3 have remote

discharges. Exit 1 and Exit 3 are remote from each other.

Access to an exit must not be through certain spaces (including kitchens, storerooms, spaces subject to
locking) unless permitted by occupancy chapter (health care and detention occupancies specifically)

Exterior ways of exit access need sufficient openings to exterior to prevent being smoke-logged. >=50%
of the long side of balcony/porch/etc. must be arranged to restrict smoke accumulation
Accessible Means of Egress: means of egress that provides an accessible route to an area of refuge,
horizontal exit, or public way. Accessible means of egress must be provided for all areas accessible to
persons with severe mobility impairment. Severe mobility impairment refers to ability to move to stairs
but not being able to use them.

This requirement is normally met without special features for single story buildings.

For multistory building, ramps may be used. However, this is impractical at very high floors and ramps
take up significant space.

Alternatively, areas of refuge (not required by the code) may be provided above the first floor to satisfy
accessible means of egress requirement. Areas of refuge serve as temporary staging grounds for
occupants to await rescue. Areas of refuge require two-way communication systems. Areas of refuge
can either be:

1. For a building protected throughout by automatic sprinklers, a story which has at least 2
accessible room/spaces separated by smoke resisting partitions
2. a space located in a path of travel leading to a public way that is protected from fire by either
separations from the rest of the building or due to its location, permitting a delay in egress

e.g. 1: When two separate areas of refuge are created by installing a horizontal exit with a fire barrier
wall, stairs can be of normal width since at least one of the exits, the horizontal exit, enable a wheelchair
to pass. When there is no horizontal exit, creating to areas of refuge and serving as at least one of the
exits, the stairs are required to have a greater width to enable a wheelchair to be carried down.

e.g. 2: Areas of refuge can be created within the exit stair enclosure at the required floor, avoiding the
need for sprinklers

All exits must be continuous to a public way or safe place, or to an exit discharge continuous to public
way. Continuous, as in, protection afforded to that exit cannot be reduced or eliminated.

Left shows an acceptable example. Some doors from

stairs lead directly lead to exterior, while others first go
through an exit passageway.

<=50% of the required number of exits, and <=50% of the

capacity may discharge through LED for new buildings. No
limitation for existing buildings.

7.7.2(4) describes sprinkler arrangements and discharge

foyer requirements

Exit discharges on LED must be unobstructed.

The discharge path must be visible and identifiable from

where occupants are discharged inside the building on
the discharge level.

Exit discharge must be marked to show travel to the public way.

Stairs and ramps that continue downward for more than one half story beyond the level of discharge
must have some mechanism to deter occupants from going the wrong way during emergency, like a
gate. This mechanism must not obstruct movement of occupants upward from the basement