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Apartment Bedroom Egress Windows

manifold

manifold

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2015
Messages
55
Location
Denver, CO
I've been asked to confirm if a design by others is code compliant and am scratching my head on it.

IBC 2015. 4 story apartment building, R-2. 30 units. Sprinklered. 2 exits from each story at either end of a common hallway. Denver, CO.

The bedrooms in each of the units do not have emergency escape and rescue openings. The living area adjacent to each of the bedrooms has a door that opens on to an exterior balcony and a door to the corridor.

By my reading of Section 1030, EEROs are required on the first 3 stories and not on the 4th story. Tables 10.6.3.2(1&2) do not seem to provide exceptions for the first 3 stories. Is this an accurate interpretation or is there some other exception that allows for the bedrooms to not have egress windows?
 
1030.1 General. In addition to the means of egress required by this chapter, provisions shall be made for emergency escape and rescue openings in Group R-2 occupancies in accordance with Tables 1006.3.2(1) and 1006.3.2(2) and Group R-3 occupancies.

“Where at least two exits, or access to at least two exits, are provided on each story of a Group R-2 building, then the provisions of Tables 1006.3.2(1) and 1006.3.2(2) are not applicable. Therefore, the provisions of Section 1030 addressing emergency escape and rescue openings also do not apply. However, where the allowances of Table 1006.3.2(1) or 1006.3.2(2) permitting a single means of egress are used, then the Group R-2 dwelling units must be provided with complying emergency escape and rescue openings. In those situations where, in multistory buildings, one or more stories may have access to two or more means of egress and there are other stories with access to only one exit, the requirements of this section would only be applied to those stories with access to just one exit.”
 
Francis Vineyard said:
1030.1 General. In addition to the means of egress required by this chapter, provisions shall be made for emergency escape and rescue openings in Group R-2 occupancies in accordance with Tables 1006.3.2(1) and 1006.3.2(2) and Group R-3 occupancies.

“Where at least two exits, or access to at least two exits, are provided on each story of a Group R-2 building, then the provisions of Tables 1006.3.2(1) and 1006.3.2(2) are not applicable. Therefore, the provisions of Section 1030 addressing emergency escape and rescue openings also do not apply. However, where the allowances of Table 1006.3.2(1) or 1006.3.2(2) permitting a single means of egress are used, then the Group R-2 dwelling units must be provided with complying emergency escape and rescue openings. In those situations where, in multistory buildings, one or more stories may have access to two or more means of egress and there are other stories with access to only one exit, the requirements of this section would only be applied to those stories with access to just one exit.”
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This doesn't make sense - I totally disagree with this interpretation. Table 1006.3.2(1) and Table 1006.3.2(2) both only allow a single exit in an R-2 when the building is sprinklered in accordance with NFPA 13 or NFPA 13R AND provided emergency escape and rescue openings in accordance with Section 1030. (Check footnote a in both tables)

Just to be clear, though, for several cycles the older editions of IBC had an exception in the Emergency Escape and Rescue section that exempted buildings that were sprinklered per NFPA 13 or 13R, but that exception was removed beginning with the 2012 edition. So there may be some existing apartment buildings that were constructed without Escape/Rescue windows in the sleeping areas.
 
Not sure what state manifold is located in, but out here in California they deleted words in section 1030.1 to read differently than posted by Francis Vineyard:
1030.1 General. In addition to the means of egress required by this chapter, provisions shall be made for emergency escape and rescue openings in Group R occupancies.​

Notice how they removed any wording that would refer you back to tables 1006.3.1 or 2 for applicability. In California, if you've got sleeping rooms, this section will be applicable regardless of number of required exits.

P.S. It is important to refer to them as "escape" windows, not "egress" windows. The word "egress" triggers all kinds of additional requirements and issues (including accessibility) that don't get triggered by the word "escape".
 
IJHumberson said:
This doesn't make sense - I totally disagree with this interpretation. Table 1006.3.2(1) and Table 1006.3.2(2) both only allow a single exit in an R-2 when the building is sprinklered in accordance with NFPA 13 or NFPA 13R AND provided emergency escape and rescue openings in accordance with Section 1030. (Check footnote a in both tables)

Just to be clear, though, for several cycles the older editions of IBC had an exception in the Emergency Escape and Rescue section that exempted buildings that were sprinklered per NFPA 13 or 13R, but that exception was removed beginning with the 2012 edition. So there may be some existing apartment buildings that were constructed without Escape/Rescue windows in the sleeping areas.
Click to expand...
Haven't checked back to the 2000 edition but where the egress window (EERO) section provides a general exception "for other than R-3" there's a footnote in the tables for "BUILDINGS WITH ONE EXIT" that requires the EERO with single exit residence even if sprinklered.

Agree the code verbage is convoluted and could use additional footnotes or exceptions to better clarify. Probably another reason it's called a code and not a manual.
 
Last edited:
This is what California code says about that.

SECTION 1030 EMERGENCY ESCAPE AND RESCUE
1030.1 General. In addition to the means of egress required by this chapter, provisions shall be made for emergency escape and rescue openings in Group R occupancies. Basements and sleeping rooms below the fourth story above grade plane shall have at least one exterior emergency escape and rescue opening in accordance with this section. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency escape and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room, but shall not be required in adjoining areas of the basement. Such openings shall open directly into a public way or to a yard or court that opens to a public way.

Exceptions:
  1. In Groups R-1 and R-2 occupancies constructed of Type I, Type IIA, Type IIIA or Type IV construction equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1.
 
ICE said:
This is what California code says about that.

SECTION 1030 EMERGENCY ESCAPE AND RESCUE
1030.1 General. In addition to the means of egress required by this chapter, provisions shall be made for emergency escape and rescue openings in Group R occupancies. Basements and sleeping rooms below the fourth story above grade plane shall have at least one exterior emergency escape and rescue opening in accordance with this section. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency escape and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room, but shall not be required in adjoining areas of the basement. Such openings shall open directly into a public way or to a yard or court that opens to a public way.

Exceptions:
  1. In Groups R-1 and R-2 occupancies constructed of Type I, Type IIA, Type IIIA or Type IV construction equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1.
Click to expand...


What year??
 
We have our own code dated 1-1-2017 based on the 2016 CBC and the 2015 IBC
 
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