Yikes
SAWHORSE
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 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 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.
In this instance, I am assuming the slam doors are on magnetic hold-opens during normal operation, so the only 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 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.
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