Escape window - at which stories?

[Yikes]

CBC /IBC 103) says "sleeping rooms BELOW the 4th story above grade plane, so I assume it's just for the first 3 stories.
Question:I have a residential building that is 6 stories, and the second level is a "split level".

• Ground level = elev 0.1 above grade plane
• Second (split) level = elev +6.0 above grade plane
• Third level = elev +16.0 above grade plane.

Are those levels the only ones that need escape windows?

 

[BayPointArchitect]

When you say "residential building", are you referring to either an R-2 or R-3 occupancy?
2012 IBC section 1029.1 would require an "emergency escape and rescue" opening for basements and sleeping rooms below the fourth story.

 

[Yikes]

It will be apartments, R-2.

 

[Yikes]

The city this is located in enforces NFPA 1932 Chapter 5 "Ground Use of Ladders", section 5.1.8 "Angle of inclination". http://www.testladders.com/nfpa_ch5.htm
Therefore regardless of what planning or building code says, the fire department sometimes requires wider side yards to place the ladders at a 75 degree angle. If my 3rd story is at elev 16.0, that means the sill is at 19.0'.
19' divided by tangent of 75 degrees (3.73) = 5.09 feet of ground space, and lets add 6" for the ladder leg thickness and 8" for the property line wall.
So for ladder access, I need to keep my bedroom escape windows about 6.5' away from the property line, IF they count my split level as a "story".

 

[BayPointArchitect]

Regardless of stories, levels, +16.0 above grade plane, and other semantics, the intent is that if a fire man knows that there is an infant located somewhere in a sleeping room, then it is likely that there is a window opening that he can squeeze himself and oxygen tank-back-pack into that window opening. To wrangle about "garden level" versus "basement" and "split level" is irrelevant. What is relevant is that if someone were to jump out of a fourth story window to avoid dying from smoke inhalation, then they might live for another few seconds until final impact with the sidewalk below. The code says that the fourth story and above do not need to have egress windows.

 

[Sleepy]

Yikes, I think it is hard to tell from the info given. It seems to me that if the 'split' 2nd floor is really some sort of mezzanine (such as if the ceiling of both the ground floor and split 2nd floor are both the same as the bottom of the third floor) then you'd have to include escape windows on a further story. Also, if the 'split' 2nd floor was actually at grade for some portion of it's perimeter then the ground floor might be below the grade plane, and you would also need to include another story. IBC offers definitions of "grade plane", "story", and "story above grade plan" which might help.