I just returned from my daughter’s cheer competition this weekend. The hair was high, the makeup was bright, and the auditorium? Well, it was completely packed.
Of course, this led me to think of life safety codes. (What? That isn’t the natural train of thought for everyone?)
As I was sitting there in between routines, thinking of the possible disasters that could befall us (as I am oft wont to do), I noticed the exit doors at the back of the auditorium. Sure they had the proper push bars (so it wouldn’t have been a problem had we all needed to escape for some terrible reason), but… the problem was-, if you weren’t a weirdo like me and actually looking for the exits, you may not have seen the doors in the first place.
No signs. Nothing.
In fact, there were few life safety signs in the entire convention center, which made me think it’s time for a little life safety review here on the blog.
Life Safety Code
Exit Doors
Exit doors have a lot of rules surrounding them, but they’re all for a very good reason—your safety. For one, if there’s an exit sign above a door, it has to be completely operational and code compliant. Otherwise you’re at risk for fines, among other things.
Imagine if there’s a fire. With all that thick, gray smoke filling the air, do you know what people will look for? Yup, that glowing red exit sign that leads them to safety. If the red light isn’t there, a lot of people will be lost and that puts their lives at risk.
It’s also important for the exits to be free of any obstruction. If people look up and follow the bright red sign, they need to be able to exit without tripping over any debris or boxes blocking the doors.
Stair Enclosures & Rooftops
How many times have we seen a character in a movie run up a building’s stairwell (usually away from a murderer) and out onto the roof, only to find themselves locked out and then faced with either a showdown with the murderer or a certain plunge to their death?
Too many times to count.
Well, along with being an unforgivable cliche, that’s also a serious violation of Life Safety Code 7.2.1.5.8.
According to the NFPA, “If a stair enclosure allows access to the roof of the building, the door to the roof either shall be kept locked or shall allow re-entry from the roof.”
This ensures people don’t get locked on the roof with no way to get back in. Simple, really, and if Hollywood had done the research, The Hangover would have never happened. (So I suppose it’s actually a good thing if Hollywood is off their safety game from time-to-time.)
Doors Need to Look Like Doors
Sure, some of us love a good maze.
However, in the world of life safety, there couldn’t be anything worse than an indirect path to an exit. According to life safety code 7.2.1.1.2, “Every door and every principal entrance that is required to serve as an exit shall be designed and constructed so that the path of egress travel is obvious and direct.”
…which brings me back to the cheer competition at the convention center. I would like for the building supervisor to take a look at this statute, in particular. The paths to the exit weren’t direct, and the exits themselves weren’t obvious. Thankfully, there were no emergencies this weekend. And I shudder to think what would have happened it there had been.
Please make sure all of your doors are easily accessible! Please make sure they’re obvious! And let’s save the mazes for the fun house at the state fair.
If you’re having trouble figuring out if something is in violation of the NFPA Life Safety code, give us a call. We’re happy to help and get you pointed in the right direction.