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Interior Stair & Travel Distance - Multi-Family 4-story

indyarchyguy

indyarchyguy

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I have a project that is a 4-story, multi-family project, fully sprinklered, Type VA, R-Occupancy. (2012 IBC). Travel distance is 250-lf. The designer is telling me the number of egress stairs he would have to add is absurd because of the distance in the egress stair alone from the 4th floor (Stair towers are rated 2-hour). All stair egress to the exterior. I explained the travel distance is from the door to the exterior exit door and there isn't really much leeway in this. He has now made me question my sanity. The only thing I can even partially come up with is pushing the stair tower to 4-hours to restart the travel distance, but that seems a bit much as well.
 
Travel distance is measured to the door leading into the exit stairway. It is only measured down the stairway if the stairway is an exit access stairway. It is also important to note that only one exit has to be within the travel distance--not all exits.

Keep this in mind: If travel distance were to be measured down the exit stairways, there could never be any high-rise buildings.
 
Are the stairs interior or exterior? It sounds like they are interior given you note 2-hr rating.

I would presume that these stairs are Interior Exit Stairways (see IBC 1022). Per IBC 1022.2, a 2-hr fire-resistance rating is required where connecting 4+ stories. As an interior exit stairway, once you enter the stairway enclosure, you have reached the exit. See definitions as follows:

INTERIOR EXIT STAIRWAY. An exit component that serves to meet one or more means of egress design requirements, such as required number of exits or exit access travel distance, and provides for a protected path of egress travel to the exit discharge or public way.​
​
EXIT. That portion of a means of egress system between the exit access and the exit discharge or public way. Exit components include exterior exit doors at the level of exit discharge, interior exit stairways, interior exit ramps, exit passageways, exterior exit stairways and exterior exit ramps and horizontal exits.​
​
And to wrap it up, see IBC 1016.2, wherein it details that the 'exit access travel distance shall not exceed' 250-ft for Group R w/ sprinkler.

EXIT ACCESS. That portion of a means of egress system that leads from any occupied portion of a building or structure to an exit.​
 
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classicT said:
Are the stairs interior or exterior? It sounds like they are interior given you note 2-hr rating.

I would presume that these stairs are Interior Exit Stairways (see IBC 1022). Per IBC 1022.2, a 2-hr fire-resistance rating is required where connecting 4+ stories. As an interior exit stairway, once you enter the stairway enclosure, you have reached the exit. See definitions as follows:

INTERIOR EXIT STAIRWAY. An exit component that serves to meet one or more means of egress design requirements, such as required number of exits or exit access travel distance, and provides for a protected path of egress travel to the exit discharge or public way.​
EXIT. That portion of a means of egress system between the exit access and the exit discharge or public way. Exit components include exterior exit doors at the level of exit discharge, interior exit stairways, interior exit ramps, exit passageways, exterior exit stairways and exterior exit ramps and horizontal exits.​
And to wrap it up, see IBC 1016.2, wherein it details that the 'exit access travel distance shall not exceed' 250-ft for Group R w/ sprinkler.

EXIT ACCESS. That portion of a means of egress system that leads from any occupied portion of a building or structure to an exit.​
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Agree 100%. I would never calculate "down the stair". Okay...thank you for the clarification.
 
indyarchyguy said:
Agree 100%. I would never calculate "down the stair". Okay...thank you for the clarification.
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It may just be a break down in communication. Based upon how you wrote it in the OP, I had taken it that you were measuring down the stair.

indyarchyguy said:
I explained the travel distance is from the door to the exterior exit door and there isn't really much leeway in this.
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Given your reply, I believe that you understand that your exit access travel distance concludes at the exit access doorway - the door entering the stairway compartment.

Just wanted to give you the heads up that if you use the language I quoted from the OP, that may be the source of confusion.

The exit access travel distance should be measured from the most remote occupied portion of the dwelling to the exit access doorway entering the stairway shaft.
 
classicT said:
The exit access travel distance should be measured from the most remote occupied portion of the dwelling to the exit access doorway entering the stairway shaft.
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That....Except delete the red word....The door into the exit is an exit door....the door out of the exit is the exit discharge....All of the other doors are exit access...Kinda
 
steveray said:
That....Except delete the red word....The door into the exit is an exit door....the door out of the exit is the exit discharge....All of the other doors are exit access...Kinda
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Whoops, you are correct. Thanks for the catch.
 
Additional thought - If you have fire walls crossing the corridors, you can use those as horizontal exits. That can help reduce the number of stairs based on travel distance.
 
Jay Smith said:
Indeed. In a large apartment building the standpipe requirement is often worth doing to save rentable area.
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That's a trade-off to be made between the owner (builder) and the design team. All we know as code officials is that if you put that fire door in the middle of the building and call it a horizontal exit so you can eliminate an exit stair -- there has to be a standpipe on each side of that door. We don't care if it saves you money, as long as it complies with the code.
 
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