Section 330.3360  Exit Facilities and Subdivision of Floor Areas

Every building shall meet the following requirements:

a)         An exit shall be a way of departure from the interior of the building to the open air outside at the ground level.  It may comprise vertical and horizontal means of travel such as doorways, corridors, passageways, stairways, and ramps, including all elements necessary for emergency escape from the building.  An exit begins at any doorway or other point of access to an exit from which residents may proceed to the exterior of the building with reasonable safety.

b)         At least two exits, remote from each other, shall be provided for each floor or fire section of the building used by residents.  At least one of the exits from each floor or fire section shall be an exit door, stairway, or smokeproof tower.  (A, B)

c)         All other exits shall be either of the above type or a horizontal or ramp type.  (B)

d)         Travel distance

1)         Travel distance between any room door intended as exit access and an exit shall not exceed 100 feet.

2)         Travel distance between any point in a room and an exit shall not exceed 150 feet.

3)         Travel distance between any point in an institutional sleeping room or suite and an exit access door of that room or suite shall not exceed 50 feet.

4)         Minimum travel distances specified in subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this Section may be increased by 50 feet in buildings completely equipped with automatic fire extinguishing systems.  (A, B)

e)         Exits shall be arranged so there are no pockets or dead-ends exceeding 30 feet.  (A, B)

f)         All main exits shall lead directly to the outside.  Any corridor or passageway a part of the exit route shall be enclosed as required for stairways.  (A, B)

g)         Decorative materials applied to walls or ceilings in means of egress and any room shall have a flame spread rating not to exceed 25 except in individual rooms of not over four persons in capacity which may have a rating of not more than 75.  (A, B)

h)         Decorative materials applied to wall or ceiling surfaces of corridors more than 48 inches above the floor shall not ignite nor flame when inserted for five minutes in a furnace heated to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit.  (A, B)

i)          Floor coverings shall have a smoke developed rating not to exceed 450 as an average of the flaming and nonflaming values as determined by the test procedures outlined in Appendix II NBS Technical Notes 708.  (A, B)

j)          Each floor shall be divided into at least two fire sections by a one hour fire rated smokestop partition, located to provide ample space on each side for the total number of residents on the floor.  Additional partitions may be necessary for the safety of the residents.  (A, B)

k)         Openings in smokestop partition shall be protected by a pair of approved doors with a fire resistive rating of at least three-fourths of an hour, shall be self-closing, and shall be closed at all times unless they have magnetic hold devices connected to the fire detection or sprinkler system.  The doors shall swing in a direction opposite from the other and shall be three feet eight inches in clear width.  (A, B)

l)          Corridor length between smokestop partitions, horizontal exits, or from either to the end of the corridor on any institutional sleeping floor shall not exceed 150 feet.  (A, B)

m)        Corridor partition walls shall be continuous from the floor slab to the underside of the floor or roof slab above, through any concealed spaces such as those above the suspended ceilings and through interstitial structural and mechanical spaces.  (A, B)

(Source:  Amended at 13 Ill. Reg. 6562, effective April 17, 1989)