A courtyard with only one exit is used as a childrens play area, maximum travel distance 15m.These kids are dependent on adults, I suggested that additional exit route may be needed but the architect said the travel distances are ok, whilst I agree, and admit the risk of fire internally may be low, I still feel it prudent to have additional exits. Environment is medical. Anyone any thouights. SBH

A courtyard to me would just that you are already outside of the building? Can an alternative exit be installed to give a shorter travel distance say from one of the rooms. i don't think having additional exits will help with the issue you say you have but having a shorter travel distance will if the children are that dependant on adults then shortest distance to get them out of the building should be thought off but also if there is more than a ground floor this will never be realistic in most cases. So long as you have a good coverage of automatic fire detection then this should give you very early warning before an escape route is compromised. Maybe knowing a bit more about the building will help answer your concerns. But early warning is going to enable quick and early evacuation. Phil