From 2009 commentary
1014.2 Egress through intervening spaces. Egress through intervening spaces shall comply with this section.
1. Egress from a room or space shall not pass through adjoining or intervening rooms or areas, except where such adjoining rooms or areas and the area served are accessory to one or the other, are not a Group H occupancy and provide a discernible path of egress travel to an exit.
Exception: Means of egress are not prohibited through adjoining or intervening rooms or spaces in a Group H, S or F occupancy when the adjoining or intervening rooms or spaces are the same or a lesser hazard occupancy group.
2. An exit access shall not pass through a room that can be locked to prevent egress.
3. Means of egress from dwelling units or sleeping areas shall not lead through other sleeping areas, toilet rooms or bathrooms.
4. Egress shall not pass through kitchens, storage rooms, closets or spaces used for similar purposes.
Exceptions:
1. Means of egress are not prohibited through a kitchen area serving adjoining rooms constituting part of the same dwelling unit or sleeping unit.
2. Means of egress are not prohibited through stockrooms in Group M occupancies when all of the following are met:
2.1. The stock is of the same hazard classification as that found in the main retail area;
2.2. Not more than 50 percent of the exit access is through the stockroom;
2.3. The stockroom is not subject to locking from the egress side; and
2.4. There is a demarcated, minimum 44-inch-wide (1118 mm) aisle defined by full- or partial-height fixed walls or similar construction that will maintain the required width and lead directly from the retail area to the exit without obstructions.
This section allows adjoining spaces to be considered a part of the room or space from which egress originates, provided that there are reasonable assurances that the continuous egress path will always be available. The code does not limit the number of intervening or adjoining rooms through which egress can be made, provided that all other code requirements (i.e., travel distance, number of doorways, etc.) are met. An exit access route, for example, may be laid out such that an occupant leaves a room or space, passes through an adjoining space, enters an exit access corridor, passes through another room and, finally, into an exit [see Figure 1014.2(2)] as long as all other code requirements are satisfied.
The intent of Item 1 is not that the accessory space be limited to the 10-percent area in Section 508.2.1, but that the spaces be interrelated so that doors between the spaces will not risk being blocked or locked. For example, a conference room and managers' offices could exit through the secretary's office to reach the exit access corridor; or several office spaces could exit through a common reception/lobby area. Requiring occupants to egress from an area and pass through an adjoining Group H that can be characterized by rapid fire buildup, or worse, places them in an unreasonable risk situation [see Figure 1014.2(1)]; therefore, this illustrated egress path would be prohibited. As an exception to Item 1, in facilities that may contain a Group H area, buildings of Group H, S or F can exit through adjoining rooms or spaces that have the same or less hazard. For example, a person exiting from a Group H storage room (see Section 415) could egress either through a similar Group H storage area or through the factory to get to an exit, but the person in the factory could not egress through the Group H storage rooms to get to the outside.
As expressed in Item 2, a common code enforcement problem is a locked door in the egress path. Twenty-five workers perished in September 1991 when they were trapped inside the Imperial Food Processing Plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, partially because of locked exit doors. As long as the egress door is readily openable in the direction of egress travel without the use of keys, special knowledge or effort (see Section 1008.1.9.5), the occupants can move unimpeded away from a fire emergency. Relying on an egress path through an adjacent dwelling unit to be available at all times is not a reasonable expectation. Egress through an adjacent business tenant space can be unreasonable given the security and privacy measures the adjacent tenant may take to secure such a space. However, egress through a reception area that serves a suite of offices of the same tenant is clearly accessible and is permitted.
Item 3 is to address concerns for the path of egress travel within individual units. The concern once again is possible locking devices. Egress for one bedroom should not be through another bedroom or bathroom.
The concern in Item 4 is that kitchens, storage rooms and similar spaces may be subject to locking or blockage of the exit access path. This is not a general provision for all Group S occupancies; therefore, it is not the intent of this provision to address the situation of egress for offices through an associated warehouse space. Item 4, Exception 1, does not apply this same prohibition to areas within dwelling or sleeping units. However, for other spaces, for example, a means of egress should not be through the working portions of a commercial kitchen behind a restaurant or the stock storage area of a storage room behind a mercantile occupancy. A definitive path must be available through the space. The four items listed in Item 4, Exception 2, are intended to provide measurable criteria to increase the likelihood that the exit access path of travel would always be available and identifiable. It is not acceptable to just mark the path on the floor. Whatever defines the route must permanently establish the egress path in a manner to maintain the minimum required unobstructed width.
For SI: 1 inch = 25.4 mm, 1 foot = 304.8 mm.
Figure 1013.6 PROTECTION AT ROOF-HATCH OPENING
Figure 1014.2(1) EGRESS PROHIBITED THROUGH GROUP H AREAS
Figure 1014.2(2) EGRESS THROUGH ADJOINING ROOMS AND SPACES
