Posted By Ashley Williams Just another thought, because of the design, could this be considered a confined space? Ash

Posted By John Webster You will find that this is not at all unusual, and even in multi-exited buildings there may be substantial dead-ends with only one way out. The regulations cover this sort of situation. Basically, the exit route should be a protected route, typically the walls of the exit route should be be fire resistant ( eg in partition walls, a double, overlapping layer of plasterboard on each side). All doors leading onto that protected exit route must be self closing fire doors. The rooms adjoining the route should either have smoke detectors or wired glass panels to allow a fire to be seen. There should be no significant quantities of combustible material in the protected route, and certainly no potential fire sources like electrical appliances. Finally there is a maximum travel distance from any point in the workplace to the protected exit route. The exit route should therefore always be available for up to 1/2 or 1 hour even with a fire in one of the adjoining rooms.....PROVIDED THAT the fire doors fit properly and are kept closed. If you have a fire certificate it will describe the type of protection to be maintained. Of course, older premises without a certificate may not be up to this standard, so check your concerns with the local Fire Prevention Officer.