BCAB #1897

October 20, 2022

Re: Egress from residential suite to exterior passageway

Project Description

The project is a 5 storey mixed use building. Stories 3, 4 and 5 consist of residential suites, with an exterior passageway providing the required means of egress for each story. The building is sprinklered. At one end of a passageway, there is a residential suite egress door beyond the exit stair near the end of the passageway. The subject residential suite egress door is set back in an alcove off of the exterior passageway with a distance of approximately 4 meters to the exterior passageway and the exit stair. (see plan below)

Applicable Code requirements: (BCBC 2018)

3.3.1.3. Means of Egress

11) Except as permitted by Sentences 3.3.4.4.(5) and (6), each suite in a floor area
that contains more than one suite shall have
a) an exterior exit doorway, or
b) a doorway
i) into a public corridor, or
ii) to an exterior passageway.
12) Except as permitted by this Section and by Sentence 3.4.2.1.(2), at the point where a doorway
referred to in Sentence (8) opens onto a public corridor or exterior passageway, it shall be
possible to go in opposite directions to each of 2 separate
exits.

3.3.1.9. Corridors

7) Except for a dead-end corridor that is entirely within a suite or as permitted by Sentences
3.3.3.3.(1) and 3.3.4.4.(6), a dead-end corridor is permitted provided it is not more than 6 m
long.

Decision being appealed (local authority’s position)
The local authority has determined that at the point the egress door from the subject residential
suite opens onto the exterior passageway, it shall be possible to go in opposite directions to each
of 2 separate exits. The subject egress door does not meet this criterion.

Appellant's position
The appellant considers Sentence 3.3.1.9.(7) grants permission to permit the residential suite door
to enter into a dead-end corridor which is less than 6m long. The proposed corridor is 4 m in
length.

Appeal Board decision #1897
It is the determination of the Board that from the point where the subject suite door opens onto
the exterior passageway it is not possible to go in opposite directions to each of 2 separate
exits. This is not in compliance with the acceptable solutions of the Code.

Reason for decision
The Building Code does not specifically address the matter of dead-ends for exterior passageways as
it does for corridors.

Lyle Kuhnert
Chair, Building Code Appeal Board