maximum exit access travel distance

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Measuring Exit Access Travel Distances

October 10, 2022 by Nick Ostrowski

The exit access configuration within a building is impacted by multiple code requirements to ensure that occupants can safely reach an exit and continue to the exit discharge. One of the major limitations that is required to be evaluated when configuring the exit access arrangement is Exit Access Travel Distance. Exit Access Travel Distances are limitations that identify the maximum distance from any point of a story to an exit. These are measured along the exit path from the most remote point of a story along the natural and unobstructed path of horizontal and vertical egress travel to the entrance to an exit (2015 IBC 1017.3). An exit can include exterior exit doors at the level of exit discharge, interior exit stairways and ramps, exit passageways, exterior exit stairs and ramps and horizontal exits.

Although IBC Section 1017.3 and NFPA 101 Section 7.6 outline how this measurement is taken, there are some common questions raised specific to this process given the different components exit access configurations consist of. The following include a few clarifications to address some these misconceptions while measuring Exit Access Travel Distances:

• Travel Distances are measured to the nearest exit , not all exits. The most remote point on the floor is required to be within the exit access travel distance limitations to any one exit on the floor.
• Often, travel distances change throughout the design of a project. Introducing new furniture or wall partitions for a tenant fitout or alternate furniture layout on a floor may obstruct an existing exit access path. As a result, the new exit access path could exceed the maximum travel distance beyond what is permitted. As design changes take place, it should be confirmed that compliant exit access travel distances are maintained.
• If an exit access stairway or ramp is provided along the path of travel, the Exit Access Travel Distance includes the travel down the exit access stairway/ ramp. The measurement along exit access stairways is required to be made on a plane parallel and tangent to the stair tread nosing’s in the center of the stair and landings. The measurement along ramps is required to be made on the walking surface in the center of the ramp and landings.

It is important to understand how to measure exit access travel distances. If you have any questions on or concerns about this information, please contact our office at [email protected] .

Application of any information provided, for any use, is at the reader’s risk and without liability to Code Red Consultants. Code Red Consultants does not warrant the accuracy of any information contained in this blog as applicable codes and standards change over time. The application, enforcement and interpretation of codes and standards may vary between Authorities Having Jurisdiction and for this reason, registered design professionals should be consulted to determine the appropriate application of codes and standards to a specific scope of work.

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Egress travel distance for two exits

• Thread starter Mech
• Start date Aug 26, 2010

Registered User

• Aug 26, 2010

IBC 2006 / 9 From the most remote point, one must travel a distance less than the common path of egress travel before choosing which route to take to exit a building. Must both exits, measured from the most remote point, be within the maximum travel distance? I am thinking the answer is yes.  

The travel distance is to ONE EXIT. If the travel is say 200-ft to an (mono) EXIT then the EXITS can be 400-ft apart as the crow flies. I go from the remote point in a room to the exit by using a L-shape out of the first room then the rest of the way can be a route that is as straight as possible if there are no items in the way to go around to the exit. Then from the adjacent room that the first was checked you go the other way to the second exit. You do not have to have both rooms to reach the same exit. I hope this makes sense, I can draw it better than describe it.  

Builder Bob

Basically yes............ As always, this is a ROT and your specific application may vary from other AHJ interpretations.  

I know the travel distance is to one exit. Must the second exit also have a travel distance less than the maximum allowed? Suppose the maximum allowable travel distance is 200 ft. If I exit a room and turn right, assume the first exit is 198 ft from the most remote point in that room. 198 < 200 - exit is good. If I exit that same room and turn left, assume the only other exit is 250 ft from the most remote point in that room. 250 > 200. Does this qualify as a second exit for this room since the travel distance exceeds the maximum allowed? BTW Examiner, one more post and I bet you'll achieve "silver" member status!!!  

Platinum Member

1016.1 : "The maximum length of exit access travel...to AN ... exit". Just make sure every portion that needs two exits is within the required travel distance to at least one of the exits.  

deleted. a duplicate appeared  

As others stated, ONE exit is required within the allowable travel distance. The travel distance to the second, third, or fourth exit(s) is not regulated.  

and if the fire blocks the exit within the allowable travel distance?  

• Aug 27, 2010

Then you die in a building that meets code. Or you move calmly but briskly a little further to get to the second exit.  

If you are in one room and from that room's the exit travel is max you are ok. Even if you have another EXIT farther away. If that one room meets the max travel distance and the adjacent room does not then the adjacent room must have AN exit within the required EXIT TRAVEL DISTANCE. There are only a few instances where you can have one exit and that is limited to travel distane less than the normal EXIT Travel, story height and occupant load. You will most always have two eixts and each room in a building with two EXITS must reach AN (ONE) (Mono) EXIT within the required travel distance.  

peach said: and if the fire blocks the exit within the allowable travel distance? Click to expand...

Mech - Valid concerns, however, the codes are a minimum... what you are posing or suggesting were certainly be desired but cannot be required by the minimums of the code.  

• Codes and Standards

The IBC’s modification to exit access travel distance

Understanding the international building code’s increase for group f-1 and s-1 occupancy..

The 2015 International Building Code includes a key modification, increasing the length of exit access travel distance from 250 ft to 400 ft (if it meets specific criteria) for buildings containing Group F-1 and/or S-1 occupancy.

This change is significant to the design industry, building owners and occupants of large distribution and manufacturing facilities. Understanding the code’s implications for your existing and future facilities will ensure you’re properly prepared. A brief timeline of exit access travel distance

• 1994: In the 1994 Uniform Building Code, the exit access travel distance in a building protected with a fire sprinkler system was typically 200 ft. The exit access travel distance could be increased to 400 ft when facilities storing or manufacturing noncombustible products were provided with smoke/heat vents in addition to the fire sprinkler system.
• 1997: In the 1997 Uniform Building Code, this section was revised to allow this increase to apply to all warehouses and factories if they were protected with a fire sprinkler system and smoke/heat vents. This exit access travel distance increase resulted in larger buildings with open, undivided areas. A typical warehouse ranged from 600 to 700 ft wide. As buildings continued to grow, 600 ft became the narrow dimension for a warehouse, with many buildings exceeding 1000 ft in length.
• 2009/2012: The 2009/2012 editions of the International Building Code were revised to eliminate the 400 ft exit travel distance for large Group S-1 warehouses and large Group F-1 manufacturing facilities equipped with smoke and heat vents. This change was made because thermally activated vents were judged not to warrant such an increase.

The effects of eliminating the 400 ft exit travel distance

Due to the 400 ft loss, designers had to modify new warehouse and manufacturing facilities’ proportions or incur the cost of providing additional exits. And while it was clear to many in the industry that the original rationale for 400 ft was faulty, eliminating the requirement in its entirety was not an option.

The industry focused on ways to increase the travel distance for large buildings containing Group F-1 and/or S-1 occupancy.

Task group 400

An industry group in California came together as "Task Group 400" and conducted a fire modeling study, which demonstrated that the vast volume of large buildings could be used to contain smoke.

The group’s report was reviewed by the California State Fire Marshal’s Office and presented to the California Building Standard Commission, requesting a reinstatement of the 400 ft travel distance without any special protection, provided all of the following are met:

1. The portion of the building classified as Group F-1 or S-1 is limited to one story in height.

2. The minimum height from the finished floor to the bottom of the ceiling or roof slab or deck is 24 ft.

3. The building is equipped throughout with an automatic fire sprinkler system in accordance with section 903.3.1.1.

The exit access travel distance reversal was successfully passed, and California adopted an amended version of the 2009 International Building Code as the 2010 California Building Code.

California’s code change was later adopted into the 2015 edition of the International Building Code – the model code for most states.It should be noted that, although code no longer requires smoke and heat vents for this travel distance increase, vents or mechanical smoke removal system, are still required by Section 910.3 and 910.4  for Group S-1 and F-1 buildings of more than 50,000 sq ft. There are exceptions, however, for frozen food warehouses and areas with specific types of sprinkler systems.

Sonja Antunovic-Curcic has over 15 years of experience in architectural design. She has a strong technical background and ability to effectively transform challenges into opportunities. Her experience involves design of new buildings, expansions or alterations to existing buildings. This article originally appeared on Stellar Food for Thoughts . Stellar is a CFE Media content partner. Edited by Joy Chang, digital project manager, CFE Media, [email protected]

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.

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Refer to Chapter 10, IBC 2012 and "Egress" chapter of The Architect's Studio Companion, by Allen and Iano (course reserve).

Means of egress is continuous and unobstructed path of travel from any point in a building to a public way. It consists of 3 basic parts:

exit access (including corridors)

exit (basically the enclosed stair)

exit discharge (which leads to the public way)

Table 1017.2 Exit access travel distance

Table 1006.2.1 Common path of egress travel (Scroll down to Table 1006.2.1, 2020 NYS Building Code, based on 2018 IBC)

Section 1020.4 Dead-end corridors (Scroll down to Sec. 1020.4, 2020 NYS Building Code, based on the 2018 IBC)

Notes on egress:

generally no elevators * or escalators allowed (except as "accessible means of egress" in some circumstances): if unsprinklered, such elevator access must be from "area of refuge" or "horizontal exit."

"The Fire, Buildings and City Planning Departments [in NYC] are writing rules to govern what are called occupant-evacuation elevators — cars that can, in special circumstances, be used to move people down in an emergency."

"That would upend decades of codes and practices based on the notion that elevators are perilous and undependable in fires or other emergencies. Experts who have spent years studying building evacuations believe that approach has become outmoded and is in itself potentially dangerous as extremely tall skyscrapers increasingly pierce the New York skyline."

"Some requirements that the city is expected to impose for evacuation elevators have been anticipated in elevators at 3 and 4 World Trade Center. The floors in front of the elevator doors are raised slightly, to protect the hoist ways from water from sprinklers or firefighters' hoses. The capacity of the emergency generators was increased to provide uninterrupted service to those cars. The cars stop at every floor. Hoist ways are within cores protected by reinforced concrete walls at least 18 inches thick." [ NY Times, March 18, 2015 ]

provide guards where a floor surface is more than 30" above floor below; such guard rails are 42" high (except 36" in R-3 occupancies), and configured so that a 4"-diameter sphere cannot pass through.

need 2 means of egress for most buildings (1 for very low occupancies; 3 for 501-1000 occupants; 4 for more than 1000 occupants). Compute number of occupants by dividing floor area by "design occupant load" in code.

spaces with one means of egress permitted generally have a maximum occupancy of 49, except that number is only 3 for H-1, H-2, H-3; and 10 for H-4, H-5, I-1, I-3, I-4, R; and 29 for S occupancies)

buildings allowed one means of egress have similar occupant limits but also have maximum numbers of stories (generally 1 story maximum, except 2 for R-2 occupancies, 3 if sprinklered); plus maximum travel distances to exits.

typical minimum door size is 36" (which is also the most common door size for both egress and accessibility).

techniques to keep smoke out of egress stairs: smokeproof enclosures can be exterior "balconies" separating the entrance to the stair from the occupied space and providing a means for smoke to be exhausted to the exterior before entering an enclosed stair; or they can use ventilation ducts provided for that purpose; or, in certain cases; stairs can be mechanically pressurized so that smoke doesn't enter.

Disclaimer: Students are responsible for material presented in class, and required material described on course outline. These notes are provided as a tentative outline of material intended to be presented in lectures only; they may not cover all material, and they may contain information not actually presented. Notes may be updated each year, and may or may not apply to non-current versions of course.

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