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Group M Occupancy and delayed egress exits

F

firemanx

Bronze Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2012
Messages
50
As I am getting into some of the existing occupancies, I'm seeing more and more delayed egress locks, especially in Group M occupancy. We are following 2006 IFC with state amendments; the only pertinent information I have found regarding delayed egress is under 1008.1.8.6:

"1008.1.8.6 Delayed egress locks.

Approved, listed, delayed egress locks shall be permitted to be installed on doors serving any occupancy except Group A, E and H occupancies in buildings that are equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or an approved automatic smoke or heat detection system installed in accordance with Section 907, provided that the doors unlock in accordance with Items 1 through 6 below. A building occupant shall not be required to pass through more than one door equipped with a delayed egress lock before entering an exit.

1. The doors unlock upon actuation of the automatic sprinkler system or automatic fire detection system.

2. The doors unlock upon loss of power controlling the lock or lock mechanism.

3. The door locks shall have the capability of being unlocked by a signal from the fire command center.

4. The initiation of an irreversible process which will release the latch in not more than 15 seconds when a force of not more than 15 pounds (67 N) is applied for 1 second to the release device. Initiation of the irreversible process shall activate an audible signal in the vicinity of the door. Once the door lock has been released by the application of force to the releasing device, relocking shall be by manual means only.

5. A sign shall be provided on the door located above and within 12 inches (305 mm) of the release device reading: PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS. DOOR CAN BE OPENED IN 15 [30] SECONDS.

6. Emergency lighting shall be provided at the door.

"

This is with state amendments.

My question is this, I have not found anything specifically dealing with delayed egress and group M occupancy; Is it incorrect to apply the aforementioned code to Group M? Or would it be interpreted that because group M is not listed in the above code that delayed egress is not allowable?

Perhaps there is another code snippet I'm missing.

Any advice is most appreciated, thank you.
 
delayed egress locks shall be permitted to be installed on doors serving any occupancy except Group A, E and H occupancies in buildings that are equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system It is allowed in a group M
 
In addition, the 2009 code adds provisions for "electromagnetically locked egress doors" in Section 1008.1.9.8 which could be an alternative to a delayed egress system.

Incidentally, Section 1008.1.9.8 can be applied to Groups A and E, which are excluded from applying the delayed egress provisions as discussed above.
 
mtlogcabin said:
delayed egress locks shall be permitted to be installed on doors serving any occupancy except Group A, E and H occupancies in buildings that are equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system It is allowed in a group M
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Whoops. I don't know why my brain blanked that out, I read through it countless times and didn't catch it. Sorry for wasting the space on the forum but thank you for pointing this out.
 
Sorry for wasting the space on the forum but thank you for pointing this out
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You are never wasting space and we all miss the obvious at times. I can't tell you how many times I have missed one word that changes what I thought the code was saying.
 
cda; it is a new tenant finish, they just installed it within the past couple of months and were seeking their certificate of occupancy.

It was interesting speaking with the general contractor on it, after I told him I needed to verify that it was tied into their alarm system he claimed he though any delayed egress lock system didn't need to be installed in that manner if it was a delay of 30 seconds or less. When I asked what code he was getting this from, he said "I think it's somewhere in NFPA 1 or 101, I don't know for sure", to which I replied "Our State has adopted the 2006 IFC with amendments, here's a copy of the code that addresses delayed egress".

They didn't want to spend any more money so they converted the system to traditional panic hardware.
 
"I think it's somewhere in NFPA 1 or 101, I don't know for sure",
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Don't blame it on 1/101.......................

7.2.1.6.1 Delayed-Egress Locking Systems. Approved, listed, delayed-egress locking systems shall be permitted to be installed on door assemblies serving low and ordinary hazard contents in buildings protected throughout by an approved, supervised automatic fire detection system in accordance with Section 9.6 or an approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 9.7, and where permitted in Chapters 11 through 43, provided that the following criteria are met:

(1)The provisions of 7.2.1.6.2 for access-controlled egress door assemblies shall not apply to door assemblies with delayed-egress locking systems.



(2)The door leaves shall unlock upon actuation of one of the following:



(a)Approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 9.7



(b)Not more than one heat detector of an approved, supervised automatic fire detection system in accordance with Section 9.6



©Not more than two smoke detectors of an approved, supervised automatic fire detection system in accordance with Section 9.6



(3)The door leaves shall unlock upon loss of power controlling the lock or locking mechanism.



(4)* An irreversible process shall release the lock within 15 seconds, or 30 seconds where approved by the authority having jurisdiction, upon application of a force to the release device required in 7.2.1.5.9 under the following conditions:



(a)The force shall not be required to exceed 15 lbf (67 N).



(b)The force shall not be required to be continuously applied for more than 3 seconds.



©The initiation of the release process shall activate an audible signal in the vicinity of the door opening.



(d)Once the lock has been released by the application of force to the releasing device, relocking shall be by manual means only.



(5)* A readily visible, durable sign in letters not less than 1 in. (25 mm) high and not less than 1/8 in. (3.2 mm) in stroke width on a contrasting background that reads as follows shall be located on the door leaf adjacent to the release device:



PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS

DOOR CAN BE OPENED IN 15 SECOND
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FM Burns; I was quoting the GC who tried to quote nfpa; an nfpa code that I had to point out to him that my state never adopted and I proceeded to forward him that same code snippet. It's frustrating working with GCs that don't realize there are more code sets that NFPA.

RJJ; thanks for pointing out there is a search function; I assumed I didn't need to put a disclaimer in my original post stating that I did, in fact, search the board and did not find what I was looking for. Next time I will ensure that I place that disclaimer on my posts.
 
FM burns; sorry, didn't realize you we're quoting that nfpa snippet in fact.

While I admit that I don't know most of the code, I do wish that some of the GCs would put in as much effort in trying to learn it rather than blowing it off and tryibg to get away with what they can.
 
should have asked were they shown on the plans and in the door hardware schedule???

or add on after a business was in business?
 
I blank out too... it's a loss prevention thing that the code has (mercifully) acknowledged.
 
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