In this article we will discuss every section of the Fire Code Exit Door Requirements broken down

The Fire Code exit door requirements are, unsurprisingly, found in the Fire Code, otherwise known as NFPA 1. Developed to be as comprehensive as possible, the Fire Code is a long standard, but in this article we’ll be sticking to just Chapter 14 Means of Egress—specifically 14.5 Door Openings.

First, let’s go over some terms found in the Fire Code exit door requirements:

• Door assembly (or just “assembly”): the entire set up on and surrounding a door including the frame, hinges, latch, handle, hardware, and, of course, the door itself
• Door leaf (or just “leaf”): the panel that opens and closes, what most people are referring to when they say “door”
• MOE: “means of egress;” a safe path to exit a building during emergency
• Exit access: portion of a MOE that leads occupants from inside a building to an exit
• DOET: “direction of egress travel;” the direction to an exit
• Lbf: “pound force;” the force needed to accelerate a 1 pound-mass object at a certain rate
• ANSI/BHMA: “American National Standards Institute/Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association;” two organizations that have a hand in the development of both standards and solutions
• UL: originally “Underwriters Laboratories” but now known as “UL Solutions;” an OSHA-approved safety testing company 
• ICC: “International Code Council;” establishes codes and standards for product evaluation, accreditation, technology, training, and certification
• Stair enclosure: interior stairs and landings between flights, corridors, or passages used in a MOE
• Emergency breakout mode: when automatic doors are able to be manually pushed outward
• RPM: “revolutions per minute;” how many times a revolving door spins in a 1 minute

According the Fire Code exit door requirements, assemblies in MOEs must be either side-hinged or pivoted-swinging. These assemblies are almost always required to be capable of swinging to the full width of the opening they are installed in. However, exceptions are made for assemblies in dwelling units, as well as in residential and care occupancies.

Horizontal-sliding or vertical-rolling door assemblies can be used in MOEs provided that…

• They are fully opened and never closed when a room is occupied
• A sign reading “THIS DOOR TO REMAIN OPEN WHEN THE SPACE IS OCCUPIED” is present on or near the door opening
• If a space needs more than two MOEs, only half of them are horizontal-sliding or vertical-rolling assemblies

Assemblies can also be of the horizontal-sliding variety when in detention and correctional occupancies, and in areas with <10 people occupant loads and low or ordinary hazard level contents. For the latter, the following conditions must be met:

• No special knowledge or effort is required to operate assemblies from either side
• Leaves require no more than 30 lbf to be set in motion and 15 lbf to close
• Assemblies are self- or automatic-closing if required by fire protection rating
• Self-latching corridor assemblies are equipped with a mechanism ensuring leaves do not bounce back into open position when forcefully closed

Assemblies in private garages, as well as in business, industrial, or storage areas with occupant loads <10 people and housing low- or ordinary-hazard contents, can be horizontal-sliding or vertical-rolling.

Side-hinged and pivoted-swinging leaves must swing in the DOET if they are part of an assembly being used as an exit enclosure, or if they are serving a high-hazard area and/or an area with an occupant load of 50+ people. 

When a leaf in a MOE swings open, it cannot obstruct more than half of the required width of the area it is opening into (a landing, aisle, corridor, etc.), unless the following applies:

• The door opening provides access to stairs
• The leaf has a self-closing device attached to it
• The leaf is not required to swing in the DOET

To meet the Fire Code exit door requirements, leaves cannot project more than 7 inches into the required width of the area they open up into, unless they are equipped with self-closing devices and are not required to swing in the DOET. Leaves equipped with surface-mounted latch release hardware are also an exception to the 7 inch rule, so long as the hardware is mounted between 34–48 inches above the floor and on the side of the leaf facing the landing/aisle/corridor/etc. when the leaf is opened.

For leaves in MOEs equipped with push, pull, or slide operated hardware, the Fire Code exit door requirements mandate that the force needed to unlock and unlatch such leaves be ≤15 lbf. For such doors that are operated via rotation, the limit is 28 in-lbf.

Generally, the amount of force needed to manually set a leaf in a MOE in motion should be less than 30 lbf. The force required to open a leaf to its minimum required width should not exceed 15 lbf. These rules do not apply to the following:

• Interior side-hinged or pivoted-swinging leaves with no closers
• Exiting door leaves in existing buildings
• Horizontal-sliding leaves in detention and correctional occupanices
• Power-operated leaves

Doors with locks and latches must not require any tools or special knowledge/effort to open from the egress side, as per the Fire Code exit door requirements.

Such doors should also have a releasing device on the egress side of the door that is 24–48 inches above the floor. How to operate the device should be obvious and require only one singular, linear motion or rotation. For new installations, be sure that the releasing device can be operated single-handedly and without the need for tight pinching, grasping, or wrist twisting. Existing devices can be operated in two motions when they serve an area with an occupant load of ≤3 people, an educational occupancy, or an existing day care occupancy.

Locks are permitted to be key-operated, so long as the key is not able to be removed from the lock when the leaf is locked from the egress side.

The Fire Code exit door requirements for key-operated doors to individual or single tenant spaces are as follows:

• Door is unlocked when occupants are in building
• Door is marked with a sign reading “THIS DOOR TO REMAIN UNLOCKED WHEN THIS SPACE IS OCCUPIED” or “THIS DOOR TO REMAIN UNLOCKED WHEN THE BUILDING IS OCCUPIED”
• It is clear when the door is locked
• Occupants have immediate access to keys while inside the locked building

If a stair enclosure assembly serves >4 stories, it must meet one of the following requirements:

• Provide interior re-entry from the stair enclosure
• Be equipped with automatic release capabilities that unlock all stair enclosure assemblies to allow for re-entry upon activation of the building’s fire alarm system

However, stair enclosure assemblies serving >4 stories are exempt from the above requirements if they…

• Are part of existing installations in non-high-rise buildings or high rises equipped with sprinkler systems
• Are part of existing and approved stairwell re-entry installations
• Serve a building with a single exit
• Are in healthcare or detention and correctional occupancies

Hardware that prohibits re-entry is allowed under the following conditions:

• The building has at least 2 levels where stair enclosures provide access to other exits and no more than 4 stories separate these exit levels
• The top or next-to-top story allows both re-entry and access to another exit
• Assemblies that do allow for re-entry are labeled as such
• Assemblies that don’t allow for re-entry are labeled with signs indicating the way to the nearest site of re-entry in both directions of travel

In order to comply with the Fire Code exit door requirements, roof-access doors should either be kept locked or allow for re-entry.

If an exit door is required to have a pair of leaves, both leaves are to be equipped with independently operated releasing devices. Additionally, automatic flush bolts should be used, but note that leaves equipped with them cannot have any doorknobs or surface-mounted hardware on their egress sides.

Lastly, if the locks and latches on a door are required to be released in just one motion, they cannot be installed in a way that prevents or might prevent the door from being used for egress.

Below is a list of types of electrical locking arrangements, each followed by a list of the Fire Code exit door requirements they are exempt from:

• Delayed-egress arrangements: sensor-release and elevator lobby requirements
• Sensor-release arrangements: delayed-egress and door hardware release requirements
• Elevator lobby arrangements: delayed-egress, sensor-release, and door hardware release requirements

If a door assembly is serving a low- or ordinary-hazard building with a fire detection or sprinkler system, the Fire Code exit door requirements permit it to be equipped with a delayed-egress electrical locking system so long as the following conditions are met:

• The system deactivates once either power is lost or the sprinkler system, a heat detector, or at least two smoke detectors actuate
• The system is irreversibly released in the DOET within 15 seconds of a 15 lbf force being continuously applied for 3 seconds to the release device
  • The release process should also activate an audible signal near the assembly
  • The system can only be rearmed manually
• ICC A117.1-compliant signs reading “PULL UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS, DOOR CAN BE OPENED IN 15 SECONDS” are situated next to the leaf’s release device in the DOET
• The egress side of the door has emergency lighting

Based on the Fire Code exit door requirements, assemblies in MOEs may have sensor-release electrical locking systems if…

• Sensors are on the egress side and will unlock in the DOET once they detect an occupant approaching
• The egress side of doors have emergency lighting
• Leaves unlock in the DOET as soon as one of the following happens:
  • Power is lost
  • The building’s fire-protective signaling, fire detection, or sprinkler system is activated
• An accessible manual release device on the egress side of the door labeled with a sign reading “PUSH TO EXIT” is what unlocks leaves
  • The device is located 40–48 inches above the door and, if the device is a new installation, within 60 inches of the secured door openings
  • The device interrupts power to electrical locks for at least 30 seconds when operated
• Leaves are only re-locked once the building’s signaling system has been manually reset
• The activation of manual fire alarm pull stations is not needed to unlock leaves

MOE assemblies may be furnished with electrical locking systems that are released via operation of hardware, provided they meet the following Fire Code exit door requirements:

• Hardware for the electrical lock release is attached to the egress side of the door leaf
• The method of hardware operation is obvious
• Hardware can be operated single-handedly in the DOET and under all lighting conditions
• When hardware is operated, the power supply to the electric lock is cut off so doors unlock in the DOET
• Power loss leads to the assembly being automatically unlocked in the DOET

As per the Fire Code exit door requirements, if an assembly separates the lobby of an elevator from an exit access, it can be electrically locked as long as…

• The building has both a fire alarm and sprinkler system
• The flow of water through the sprinkler system activates the fire alarm system
• The lobby is protected by a smoke detection system which is connected to the fire alarm system
• If the fire alarm system is activated by anything but a manual pull station, the electrical locks on assemblies are unlocked
• The assembly is unlocked when power to the lobby is lost and remains unlocked until a manual reset of the fire alarm system
• Assemblies that can be electrically unlocked but still mechanically latched are fitted with latch-releasing hardware
• There is a two-way communication system set up between the lobby and a central control point that is staffed 24/7 by capable individuals authorized to provide emergency assistance

Hardware on assemblies required to have either panic or fire exit hardware must be…

• Cross bars or push pads covering at least half of the width of leaves
  • Push pads are required if doors are balanced or pivoted-swinging
• Mounted between 34–48 inches above the floor for new installations and 30–48 inches for existing installations
• Constructed so that the horizontal force needed to actuate the hardware and latches is ≤15 lbf

Fire-protection-rated assemblies can only be fitted with approved hardware. For new assemblies, this means being listed with UL 305 and ANSI/BHMA A156.3.

The Fire Code exit door requirements prohibit the following:

• Hardware equipped with anything that might prevent the releasing device from being able to release a door’s latch
• Unlisted and unapproved devices that hold latches in retracted position

The Fire Code exit door requirements order that leaves meant to be kept closed never be propped open and be either self- or automatic-closing. 

In buildings housing low- or ordinary-hazard contents, leaves are allowed to be automatic-closing, provided that…

• Leaves become self-closing once the hold-open mechanism is released
• The hold-open mechanism is released upon loss of power to the hold-open device
• The mechanisms to close automatically are activated by NFPA 72-compliant smoke detectors
• Leaves are either able to be readily closed or become self-closing upon release
• If one leaf in a stair enclosure is released due to smoke detection, all leaves serving that enclosure close too

Power-operated, automatic, or power-assisted manual MOE leaves must also be capable of being opened and closed manually.

The following requirements apply everywhere but detention and correctional occupancies:

• Leaves must follow the standards laid out in the “Forces for Unlatching and Leaf Operation” section
• Leaves are able to swing from any position
• The egress side of each door opening has a sign reading “IN EMERGENCY, PUSH TO OPEN”
• Power-operated sliding assemblies in exit accesses serving <50 people that open manually in the DOET are not required to meet the swing-out feature requirements laid out in the “Forces for Unlatching and Leaf Operation” section
  • Such assemblies should be labeled with signs reading “IN EMERGENCY, SLIDE TO OPEN”
• Leaves that are part of two-leaf openings are not subject to the NFPA 101 2 inch single-leaf minimum requirement, as long as the clear width of a single leaf is at least 20 inches
• Leaves must comply with the force opening requirements outlined in the “Forces for Unlatching and Leaf Operation” section, with the exception being that the force required to set leaves in motion can reach up to but not exceed 50 lbf
• Assembly design and installation must allow for leaves to swing from any position when force is applied to their egress sides
  • Leaves must be able to swing to the full required width of the opening they are installed in
• When bi-parting sliding door assemblies are in emergency breakout mode, leaves located in multiple-leaf openings are not subject to the NFPA 101 32-inch single-leaf requirements, so long as a clear opening of 32+ inches is provided by the broken-out leaves

This chart details what codes each type of new power-operated door installation is beholden to:

Finally, the Fire Code exit door requirements assert that leaves that are automatically or power-assisted manually operated and required to be self-closing or -latching can be used in MOEs if leaves…

• Are able to be manually opened during power loss
• Remain closed until they are manually opened or automatically activated
• Remain open for only 30 seconds when actuated
• That are held open close once NFPA 72-compliant smoke detectors go off
• That are required to be self-latching are either self-latching all the time or become it when smoke detectors activate

All revolving door assemblies, whether they be part of a MOE or not, must abide by the following:

• New assemblies are compliant with ANSI/BHMA A156.27 and installed according to manufacturer instructions
• Door wings are capable of either book-fold position or breakout mode
• When wings are in book-fold position, the egress paths formed should provide a combined 36 inch width
• Assemblies are not within 10 feet of the foot or top of a staircase or escalator
• An AHJ-approved dispersal area is present between the stairs/escalators and the assembly
• RPM of wings does not exceed limits, which differ depending on whether doors are new or existing
• Each assembly has a conforming side-hinged swinging door assembly within 10 feet of it, unless the revolving door assembly is in a street floor elevator lobby that doesn’t have any stairways or door openings discharging through it

If a revolving door assembly is, in fact, part of a MOE, it must…

• Not account for over half of the required egress capacity
• Not have an opening credited with a capacity >50 people
• Have wings capable of collapsing into book-fold position when a ≤130 lbf force is applied within 3 inches of the wings’ outer edge

The Fire Code also provides requirements for revolving door assemblies not used in MOEs, but since this article is focused on the Fire Code exit door requirements, they will be omitted here.

If a room is divided into smaller sections with partitions, the Fire Code exit door requirements state that each subsection must have access to its own swinging door leaf or open doorway. This rule does not apply if:

• A subsection’s occupancy load never exceeds 20 people at a time
• A subsection is under adult supervision
• Partitions do not extend across any exit access paths
• Paritions are approved and able to both be released and opened easily and quickly
• Partitions fit the Fire Code’s interior finish standards
• Both areas on either side of a partition have compliant MOEs that do not require traveling through the partition

Special-purpose horizontally-sliding accordion or folding door assemblies are allowed in MOEs, on the conditions that…

• The door can be easily opened from the egress side without any special knowledge/effort
• The forces needed to open the door and to set it in motion (both in the DOET) are ≤15 lbf and ≤30 lbf, respectively
• The force needed to close the door or open it to its minimum required width is ≤15 lbf
• When a 250 lbf force is applied perpendicularly to the door near the operating device, the door requires a ≤50 lbf force to be operated
  • This requirement does not apply to existing special-purpose horizontal-sliding accordion or folding assemblies that serve area with occupant loads <50 people

Finally, the Fire Code exit door requirements specify that if your assembly is required to comply with fire protection ratings, make sure it is self- or automatic-closing and that closing is triggered by smoke detection in order to maintain compliance with NFPA 80.

Two crucial aspects of the Fire Code exit door requirements are regular inspections and testings of doors. The following should be visually inspected and functionally tested by qualified individuals at least annually:

• Hardware-equipped leaves
• Exit enclosure assemblies
• Electronically locked assemblies
• Assemblies with special locking arrangements

During inspections, assemblies should be looked at from both sides of the door opening and the following should be verified:

Be sure to keep signed records of data collected from each inspection and test for your AHJ.

Note that assemblies are allowed to go more than 12 months without being inspected or tested, if they are under a written performance-based program that meets the following criteria:

• Establishes goals that ensure the assembly performs its intended function
• Includes a technical justification for the new inspection and testing intervals
• Includes historical data

The Fire Code exit door requirements advise that any improperly operating door opening be repaired or replaced as quickly as possible.

The Fire Code exit door requirements do not go into great detail on doors serving detention and correctional occupancies; for that information, see chapters 22–23 of NFPA 101.

Here are some final miscellaneous pieces of the Fire Code exit door requirements:

• All signs must be durable and visible
  • Lettering should be at least 1 inch high and contrast with the sign’s background
• Newly installed electromechanical and electromagnetic locking hardware pieces must be listed with either UL 294 or 1034
• The following need AHJ approval:
  • Existing installations
  • Supervised automatic fire detection systems
  • Supervised automatic sprinkler systems
  • Supervised smoke detection systems
  • Delayed-egress electrical locking systems
  • Automatic flush bolts

Wow, that was a lot of information! The good news is, you don’t have to go about trying to follow each and every one of the Fire Code exit door requirements on your own. Just like this article will always be available for reference as you go about making installations and renovations, InspectNTrack is also always ready to help make sure collecting and storing the right inspection data is effortless. Request a free demo and get started with us today!