Posted By shaun mckeever I don't think the RRO says 'must'. It is preferable to open in the direction of escape. Under certain circumstances they may open against the direction of escape. Usually if there are more than 50 persons likely to be using the door for escape purposes then building regs suggest open in direction of escape.

Posted By Jane Blunt Can we define an emergency door? Is an office door or a kitchen door an emergency door? Jane

Posted By Adam Hammerton The requirements of Article 14 are tempered though by the statement "(2) The following requirements must be complied with in respect of premises where necessary (whether due to the features of the premises, the activity carried on there, any hazard present or any other relevant circumstances) in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons—" If your assessment shows that having the door open in the direction of travel is not necessary to safeguard relevant persons then it doesn't have to. Part B of the building regs and the applicable fire order guidance can help determine if it is necessary. Adam

Posted By Jane Blunt I am with Descarte on this. The Building regs (Approved document B) do not seem to define precisely what the escape route is (i.e. where does it start? At my desk, or when I have emerged from my office?). They do say that the door should, if reasonably practicable, be hung to open in the direction of escape, and should always do so if the number of persons that might be expected to use the door at the time of a fire is more than 60. Looking around my building, the office doors, kitchen door etc open INTO the respective rooms, and are therefore not opening in the direction of escape. The doors to the lecture theatres (capacity in the hundreds) open outwards, in the direction of escape, as do all the final exits and the intermediate doors. So, does this mean that the escape route is defined as the space that you enter after you have left your office, and hence that the office door can open any way you like. Or does it mean that it is not perceived to be reasonably practicable to have office doors opening into corridor spaces because we would be injuring people daily?! Jane

Posted By shaun mckeever Jane Escape routes are those parts that make up the path of exit from anywhere in a building. It can include unprotected areas such as from your desk as well as protected areas such as corridors and stairwells. The building regs may not specify exactly where an escape route starts but it does limit the travel distance to a protected route. The route must also terminate in an area external to the building which is unenclosed such as a courtyard.