Div. B › Part 3 › 3.4 › 3.4.6 — Types of Exit Facilities

3.4.6.12 — Direction of Door Swing

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(1) Except as permitted by Sentences (2) to (4) and Article 3.4.6.14., every exit door shall,

(a) open in the direction of exit travel, and

(b) swing on its vertical axis.

(2) A door serving a single dwelling unit shall swing on its vertical axis.

(3) Except in a high hazard industrial occupancy, an exit door need not swing in the direction of exit travel where it serves,

(a) a room, suite or floor area having an occupant load of not more than 60 persons, or

(b) as part of a means of egress from more than one floor area and the floor areas so served have a total occupant load of not more than 60 persons.

(4) Exit doors need not conform to Sentence (1) where they serve,

(a) storage garages serving not more than one dwelling unit,

(b) accessory buildings serving not more than one dwelling unit, or

(c) storage suites not more than 28 m2 in area that are on the first storey of a warehouse and open directly outdoors at ground level.

OBC Definitions

Defined terms on this page

dwelling unit

means a suite operated as a housekeeping unit, used or intended to be used by one or more persons and usually containing cooking, eating, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities.

exit

means that part of a means of egress, including doorways, that leads from the floor area it serves to a separate building, an open public thoroughfare or an exterior open space protected from fire exposure from the building and having access to an open public thoroughfare.

first storey

means the storey that has its floor closest to grade and its ceiling more than 1.8 m above grade.

floor area

means the space on any storey of a building between exterior walls and required firewalls, including the space occupied by interior walls and partitions, but not including exits, vertical service spaces and their enclosing assemblies.

industrial occupancy

means the occupancy or use of a building or part of a building for the assembling, fabricating, manufacturing, processing, repairing or storing of goods or materials.

means of egress

means of egress includes exits and access to exits and means a continuous path of travel provided for the escape of persons from any point in a building or in a contained open space to, (a)a separate building, (b)an open public thoroughfare, or (c)an exterior open space that is protected from fire exposure from the building and that has access to an open public thoroughfare.

occupancy

means the use or intended use of a building or part of a building for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property.

occupant load

means the number of persons for which a building or part of a building is designed.

storage garage

means a building or part of a building that is intended for the storage or parking of motor vehicles and that contains no provision for the repair or servicing of motor vehicles.

storey

means , except for the purposes of Part 7 of Division B, the portion of a building, (a)that is situated between the top of any floor and the top of the floor next above it, or (b)that is situated between the top of the floor and the ceiling above the floor, if there is no floor above it.

suite

means a single room or series of rooms of complementary use, operated under a single tenancy, and includes, (a)dwelling units, (b)individual guest rooms in motels, hotels, boarding houses, rooming houses and dormitories, and (c)individual stores and individual or complementary rooms for business and personal services occupancies.

building

(a) a structure occupying an area greater than ten square metres consisting of a wall, roof and floor or any of them or a structural system serving the function thereof including all plumbing, works, fixtures and service systems appurtenant thereto,
(b) a structure occupying an area of ten square metres or less that contains plumbing, including the plumbing appurtenant thereto,
(c) plumbing not located in a structure,
(c.1) a sewage system, or
(d) structures designated in the building code; Act

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