tgentry
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My office is working on a three story building that has an Exit Access Stairway that we would like to remain unenclosed.
The stair is located within a communicating tower that connects the three levels of the building (ground floor, second and third floors).
The tower has a large open landing of each level to give views of other adjacent structure surrounding the building. There is no other program within the tower other than the addition of an elevator shaft that is separately fire rated.
In the 2018 IBC Section 1019.3-4. there is a condition to allow an Exit Access Stair to continue unenclosed through a building that has an automatic sprinkler system & draft curtains with sprinklers (and additional calculations for the stair opening ratios).
In the 2012 NFPA 101 Section 8.6.6 unenclosed floor openings are permitted so long as all the eight items listed are met. Item (1) states the communicating space does not connect more than three contiguous stores, which seems to fit my office's project design. However, number (7) says: Each occupant within the communicating space has access to not less than one exit without having to traverse another story within the communicating space. This seems to say we cannot traverse people the entire three stories, because they would have to "traverse another story" to get to the exit from the third floor to the ground level. Is this how the NFPA is typically interpreted? If so, does item (7) not negate the approval of item (1)?
The stair is located within a communicating tower that connects the three levels of the building (ground floor, second and third floors).
The tower has a large open landing of each level to give views of other adjacent structure surrounding the building. There is no other program within the tower other than the addition of an elevator shaft that is separately fire rated.
In the 2018 IBC Section 1019.3-4. there is a condition to allow an Exit Access Stair to continue unenclosed through a building that has an automatic sprinkler system & draft curtains with sprinklers (and additional calculations for the stair opening ratios).
In the 2012 NFPA 101 Section 8.6.6 unenclosed floor openings are permitted so long as all the eight items listed are met. Item (1) states the communicating space does not connect more than three contiguous stores, which seems to fit my office's project design. However, number (7) says: Each occupant within the communicating space has access to not less than one exit without having to traverse another story within the communicating space. This seems to say we cannot traverse people the entire three stories, because they would have to "traverse another story" to get to the exit from the third floor to the ground level. Is this how the NFPA is typically interpreted? If so, does item (7) not negate the approval of item (1)?