Salahaddin University
College of Engineering Safety systems
Architecture Department Means of egress
5th Grade - Spring Semester
2023 - 2024
Instructor: Asst. lec. Carol Kharbosh & Mr. Bayar
MEANS OF EGRESS
• Means of Egress is a continuous, unobstructed path of vertical and horizontal exit travel from any
occupied portion of a building or structure to a public way.
• A building may contain several different types of occupancies. The designer must consider all of the
uses, present or contemplated, so that adequate numbers and capacities of exits are provided. The
occupant load is typically calculated as if each area is occupied at the same time to determine the
maximum possible number of occupants to be accommodated by the means of egress.
• Egress widths determine the number of occupants that may egress. In other words, the “capacity” of
the means of egress is dependent on the width of the various components of the means-of-egress
system.
• Flow: There is a presumed direction of flow to every
means of egress, leading from an occupied space to a
final safe outside area, away from any hazard or
emergency in the building.
• It is important to keep in mind that egress has a time
component. The occupants of the ground-level
portions of the means of egress in a multistory
building are assumed to be out of the building when
the occupants from the upper stories reach the end
of the total length of the egress path.
MEANS OF EGRESS
• Alternative Paths
Another basic exiting principle is that at least two different egress paths should lead from the interior of a
building to the outside at ground level. The rationale is that if one path is blocked or endangered by a
hazard, then the other path will be available. There are exceptions to this rule for situations involving
relatively small numbers of occupants, but the designer should always begin with the basic design concept
that two ways out of each space should typically be provided in case of an emergency.
MEANS OF EGRESS
Protection
• Various sections of the egress path may be
required to provide fire-resistive protection for the
occupants. Exit access begins in any occupied part
of the building, which in turn can connect to a
corridor or to an exit, extend in the exit enclosure
down through the building, and then to the exit
discharge leading to the exterior. Note that often
corridors will not be required to be of fire-resistive
construction, typically in the situation where a
building is fully sprinklered.
• Once in a rated corridor, exit stairway, or similar
protected egress path, the occupant is to remain
protected until the building exterior is reached. In
the process of exiting, the occupant should not be
required to move out of a protected environment
into adjacent occupied spaces or unprotected
egress paths to get to the next portion of the
protected egress path or to the exterior, because
doing so would necessitate removing the
protection the exit enclosure is required to
provide.
MEANS OF EGRESS
There are three basic components to
a means of egress: the exit access,
the exit, and the exit discharge.
1. EXIT ACCESS is that portion of the
means of egress system that leads
from any occupied portion in a
building or structure to an exit.
MEANS OF EGRESS
2. EXIT is that portion of the means-of-egress system
between the exit access and the exit discharge or the
public way. The exit is typically separated from other
interior spaces by fireresistive construction, but this
may not be the case for each and every exit.
The exit portion of the means of egress allows the
occupants of a building to move inside of or toward a
protected enclosure from the area where a hazardous
event is occurring to a place where they may finally
escape the building. Exits are typically separated from
other interior spaces of a building or structure by fire-
resistance-rated construction and opening
protectives on doors or windows as required to
provide a protected path-ofegress travel from the exit
access to the exit discharge.
Exits include interior exit stairways and ramps, exit
passageways, exterior exit stairways, exterior exit
ramps, horizontal exits, and exterior exit doors at
ground level.
MEANS OF EGRESS
3. EXIT DISCHARGE is that portion of the means-of-egress system between the termination of an exit and
a public way. The exit discharge may include egress courts and yards, and stairways and ramps within
them. Many of these are building-related components, but an exit discharge may also include site
elements.
This portion of the means of egress is
basically assumed to be at or near grade
and open to the atmosphere. The
occupants are presumed to be able to
clearly see where an area of safety outside
the building lies and are able to move
toward it.
The code defines “public way” as any
street, alley, or other parcel of land open
to the outside air leading to a street that
has been deeded, dedicated, or otherwise
permanently appropriated to the public
for public use and having a clear width and
height of not less than 3m.
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
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GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
Example
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
Multiple Occupancies
§ 1004.4 covers the means-of-egress requirements
that apply to buildings housing multiple occupancies.
When there are special egress requirements based
on occupancy, they apply in that portion of the
building housing that occupancy. When different
occupancies share common egress paths, the most
stringent requirements for each occupancy will
govern the design of the means-of-egress system.
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
Egress Sizing
§ 1005 specifies that the capacity of exit
pathways be governed by: the occupant load,
the hazard of the occupancy, whether the
building is sprinklered, and whether the path is
a stair or other component of a means of
egress.
Note that a reduction in stair widths and the
width of other egress components for
sprinklered buildings is allowed and emergency
voice/alarm system is also provided. For stairs
the factor is 0.2“ (5.1) per occupant and for
other egress components the factor is 0.15"
(3.8) per occupant.
The required egress width in unsprinklered
buildings is based on the occupant load served
by an egress component multiplied by an
egress width factor. For stairs the factor is 0.3"
(7.62) per occupant and for other egress
components it is 0.2" (5.08) per occupant.
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
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The IBC establishes the
following occupancy
groups:
• Assembly (A)
• Business (B)
• Educational (E)
• Factory and Industrial (F)
• High Hazard (H)
• Institutional (I)
• Mercantile (M)
• Residential (R)
• Storage (S)
• Utility and Miscellaneous (U)
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL EGRESS REQUIREMENTS
Thank you
Any Question?
