Emergency exit doors emergency exits must have free egress at all times but as exterior doors they are also critical points for maintaining building security.
Fire exit door specifications.
Fire doors are an important part of a building s passive fire protection system and doors in a means of egress provide life safety by allowing people to exit quickly when necessary.
Requirements for exits exits must be separated from the workplace by fire resistant materials that is a one hour fire resistance rating if the exit connects three or fewer stories and a two hour fire resistance rating if the exit connects more than three floors.
Still the requirements remain a mystery for many architects and specifiers.
There are specific requirements for electronically controlled egress doors.
This standard regulates the installation and maintenance of assemblies and devices used to protect openings in walls floors and ceilings against the spread of fire and smoke within into or out of buildings.
Above all equip doors with panic hardware and fire exit hardware.
An applied force not to exceed 15 pounds will cause the door latch to release.
Emergency exit specifications and standards.
For example this should not be less than 30 inches and not more than 44 inches above the floor.
That means they must be equipped to prevent unauthorized entry.
Panic hardware and fire exit hardware consist of bars that must extend across not less than one half the width of the door leaf not less than 30 inches or more than 44 inches above the floor.
Fire doors should be compliant and tested to bs 476 part 22 or to the european equivalent bs en 1634 1.
Hardware consisting of bars that extend to at least half of the width of the door leaf.
A 1 1 see annex k for general information about fire doors.
An applied force of 15 pounds should be enough to release the latch.
A fire door is more than just the door itself it refers to the door the fixings the fitting the ironmongery latches handles etc and the frame.
1910 37 b 4 if the direction of travel to the exit or exit discharge is not immediately apparent signs must be posted along the exit access indicating the direction of travel to the nearest exit and exit discharge.
Emergency exits must also meet all building code as well as fire and life safety and ada requirements.
Specifiers are increasingly influenced to specify only ce marked products for fire and escape doors.