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Blocking Fire Exits - Minimum Clearance Distance?
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FlashingBlade  
#1 Posted : 09 May 2014 14:58:06(UTC)
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FlashingBlade
Simple question, iis there a minimum area in front of a fire exit that needs to be kept clear in order to avoid it being considered 'blocked'?
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simplesafety  
#2 Posted : 09 May 2014 15:17:05(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
simplesafety
Here’s a not so simple answer: It depends on how big your doors are - Sounds comical but its true, there are occupancy calculations to determine the size of fire escape routes and doors. It depends of population of building, flow-rate through the doors etc. A simple answer could be to provide a route leading to the door no narrower than the fire door itself. If this route is blocked/obstructed at all, then you have a problem.
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firesafety101  
#3 Posted : 09 May 2014 15:30:24(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
firesafety101
I agree with Aleeman, keep the route to and through the fire exit as wide as the exit itself.
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SBH  
#4 Posted : 09 May 2014 15:37:20(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
SBH
Keep all routes clear -- full stop. If any route is compromised its illegal. SBH
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FlashingBlade  
#5 Posted : 10 May 2014 17:16:39(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
FlashingBlade
The reason I ask is because i was looking in a warehouse the other day and the racking finished approximately 2 feet from the back wall where the fire exits were located and some of the racking bays straddled in front of the exits. This means that when the bays were full with a pallet, it would partially obscure the exit visibly and because the racking is set so close to the wall my concern was that there was practically no room to move around to actually gain access to the exit. The saving grace was the the warehouse occupancy was low with only two people working in it at any one time. It was a fairly large warehouse with approx 2-3000 bays and there were 7 exits located around the perimeter.
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Angela1973  
#6 Posted : 12 May 2014 12:41:03(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Angela1973
I'd say depending on how far it is for the workers in the area to access another exit (e.g. if it is a high risk area, they should be no more than 25 away from an exit if there is more than one exit (45m medium risk, 60m low). If your workers are this distance or less form an exit, or more than one exit other than this one, then they would be safe. However, if it is a means of escape, then really nothing should obstruct it at all, so it would be worth seeing if the racking in question can be relocated to a better areas where this will not obstruct an exit.
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