I’m currently working on getting licensed and was at a friend’s house and noticed this. I’m in Oregon, it’s a Town house, my question is, it only has one way of egress (out the front door), once you enter the front door you have a hall and stairs, no fire escape upstairs, and from the main living area, one door going to a fully fenced backyard with no gates or path to the front. so is this legal
First photo is standing just inside the front door, second is looking down the hall to front door, third back door from main living area. p.s. the door down the hall to the left in the first photo is to the garouge (that dosent self close) and the main breaker panle is in their about where the firsp painting on the wall is.
It’s fine.(auto closing door is typically enforced locally or not)
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auto closing door ???
I guess self-closing is more accurate. Its required that a door going from garage to the living space be self-closing as well as fire rated.
2018 IRC:
R311.1 Means of egress. Dwellings shall be provided with a
means of egress in accordance with this section. The means
of egress shall provide a continuous and unobstructed path of
vertical and horizontal egress travel from all portions of the
dwelling to the required egress door without requiring travel
through a garage. The required egress door shall open directly
into a public way or to a yard or court that opens to a public
way.
R311.2 Egress door. Not less than one egress door shall be
provided for each dwelling unit. The egress door shall be
side-hinged, and shall provide a clear width of not less than
32 inches (813 mm) where measured between the face of the
door and the stop, with the door open 90 degrees (1.57 rad).
The clear height of the door opening shall be not less than 78
inches (1981 mm) in height measured from the top of the
threshold to the bottom of the stop. Other doors shall not be
required to comply with these minimum dimensions. Egress
doors shall be readily openable from inside the dwelling without
the use of a key or special knowledge or effort.
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The slider is egressable…
The windows for the bed spaces are likely egressable
The requirement is to be able to get out of the home in case of a fire, and to the exterior.
And, you ask if this is legal. It is not against any laws and the police will not arrest you for legality. Try to get in the mindset of inspecting for modern standards and compliances. It is not a code inspection, but code does dictate a lot of the standards set forth that we are looking at.
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Thank you for this info. I appreciate it.
Thank you, that’s a good point. The main trend I’ve been seeing in the school is things that could/will/is damaging the dwelling with emphases on safety for the occupants.
Not a problem, but good to question it if you’re not sure.
I always include a tips sheet with my reports that recommends that my clients practice fire drills just like we did in school.
Suggestion…
You should be very clear as to the verbiage you use, especially in your reports.
The terms Fire Egress and Fire Escape are incorrect for use in this scenario.
The proper terms would be Emergency Egress, and/or Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings, or other similar terms. There are many reasons for an emergency other than “Fire”.
Also… I recommend you research your State Fire Code for it’s specific requirements, as they may likely have differences from National or other States/Jurisdictions.
As an example… my state of Minnesota:
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