Elevator "slam" (smoke) door accessibility requirements

[Yikes]

Here's my initial thoughts on when a swinging slam door (smoke door) on a hoistway entrance needs ADA/11B accessibility - - please correct me if I'm wrong.
In this instance, I am assuming the slam doors are on magnetic hold-opens during normal operation, so the only accessibility consideration is immediately after a fire alarm triggers door closure. Further, I will assume for sake of this discussion that the building owner / operator has staff that can manually re-open the slam doors after a fire alarm event is over.

When the alarm sounds and the slam door(s) close:

1. Slam doors only need to be accessible going into the elevator when the elevator itself is part of a required accessible means of egress (IBC 1009.2.1), most often on buildings of 5+ stories without a horizontal exit.
2. When an elevator is not part of an AMOE, it will typically return to its lowest level. Where the level of exit discharge is also the lowest level for the elevator, slam doors above the lowest level are not intended for egress from the cab and do not need to be accessible from the cab into that upper floor level.
3. Slam doors at or below the level of exit discharge need to be accessible for egressing out from the elevator cab in an emergency. When the jamb depth will likely exceed 8 inches on the push side (cab side), spring hinges will be needed in order to avoid the extra 12" clearance on the push side of the door.

(Note: For sake of this accessibility post, I assume that slam doors are required to latch to have an effective smoke seal, a topic which has been discussed elsewhere: https://www.thebuildingcodeforum.com/forum/threads/slammer-doors.31026/post-240290 .)

 

[walker.t]

only need to be accessible going into the elevator

I can’t think of a provision that says that movement through the means of egress can be in one direction only. Of course ultimately we want to get people out of the building in an emergency, therefore the intended direction is towards the exit discharge, but it would seem there’s always a chance that someone might need to backtrack.

slam doors above the lowest level are not intended for egress from the cab and do not need to be accessible from the cab into that upper floor level

Slam doors at or below the level of exit discharge need to be accessible for egressing out from the elevator cab in an emergency

Why would levels below the level of exit discharge be different than levels above the level of discharge?

 

[Yikes]

Why would levels below the level of exit discharge be different than levels above the level of discharge?

In a non-AMOE, non-standby power elevator, in event of emergency:

• If the elevator is above the level of exit discharge, it defaults down to the level of exit discharge and opens its doors.
• I believe (please tell me if I'm wrong), if it is below the level of exist discharge (such as multilevel basements or subterranean parking structures, the elevator will open at the closets floor at or below its current elevation.

So if a person in a wheelchair is in an elevator and the cab is halfway between the ground level and the basement level when the building alarm goes off, then elevator will drop down to the basement, open its doors, and let the wheelchair user exit the elevator to go find the area of refuge elsewhere in the basement.

 

[walker.t]

I believe (please tell me if I'm wrong), if it is below the level of exist discharge (such as multilevel basements or subterranean parking structures, the elevator will open at the closets floor at or below its current elevation.

Unfortunately I don’t know the answer to that from personal experience. Tried to look online but only found references to “alternate level recall” (without reference to how that floor is selected) such as in this article:

Elevator Recall Explanation and Programming

Elevator recall activates two functions, designated level recall and alternate level recall. If smoke detectors activate in elevator lobbies, elevator machine room, or hoistway, the fire alarm panel will send the elevator to the appropriate floor. This is known as elevator recall.

www.firealarmsonline.com

Here’s a quote to a post on the forum making reference to the alternate recall floor:

It will depend upon the programming of the elevator and where the recall floor is........ Typically first level of recall is the ground floor - smoke detector activates and recalls elevator to recall floor. If the building is large enough, it may have a secondary floor recall in the event the smoke detector in the first floor lobby activates (primary recall), the elevator would recall to the alternate floor (secondary recall) and open the doors to get people off of the elevator.

Older systems did not have the primary and secondary recall feature installed, so if the smoke activated and the elevator recalled, it would open the door on the lobby and remain open.

This is a very simplistic explanation and I am sure that the elevator code can spell it out in thirty or forty pages for ya.