City of Salina Brochure-Exits and Emergency Escape Windows

1. WHERESHOULDTHE
WINDOWSBELOCATED?
Therequiredwindowsforemergencyes-
capeorrescueshouldbelocatedontheexte-
riorofthebuildingsorescuecanbemore
effective.Likewise,occupantsmayescape
fromthewindowtotheexteriorofthebuilding
withouthavingtotravelthroughthebuilding
itself.Ifwindowsopenintoaninteriorcourt,
thecourtmusthaveanexitpassagewaywhich
providesaccesstothepublicway.
Windowsusedforemergencyescapeor
rescuemustbeoperablewindows.Theyshould
betheusualdoublehung,horizontalslidingor
casementwindowsoperatedbytheturnofa
crank.Thebuildingofficialshouldevaluate
specialtypesofwindowsotherthanthose
describedbaseduponthedifficultyofoperat-
ingorremovingwindows.Iftheamountof
efforttoremovethewindowsiscomparableto
thatofthreetypeslistedabove,thewindows
mightbeapprovedaslongasnotools,special
knowledgeoreffortisrequired.
WHATIFIHAVE
SECURITYDEVICES?Manyfire-relateddeathsinresidentialbuildings
areduetooccupantsbeingasleepatthetimeofa
fire.Becauseofthis,theInternational
ResidentialCode(I.R.C.)
requiresbasementsin
dwellingunitsandall
sleepingroomsbelow
thefourthstorytohave
windowsordoors
whichmaybeusedasan
emergencyescape.
Sincebasementsoftenserveassleepingrooms
theymusthaveanescapewindow.Basement
occupantsdeservethesameprotectionassome-
oneoccupyingaregularsleepingroom.
Firespreadsquickly,andsleepingoccupants
areoftenunawareofthefireuntilthenormalexit
channelsareblocked.
Theincreasingconcernforsecurity,particu-
larlyinresidentialbuildings,hascreatedafairly
largedemandforsecuritydevicessuchasgrilles,
barsandsteelshutters.
Unlessproperlydesignedandconstructed,
thesesecuritydevicesoverbedroomwindows
cancompletelydefeatthepurposeoftheemer-
gencyescapeandrescuewindow.Therefore,
theI.R.C.makesprovisionsforsecurityde-
vices,providedthereleasemechanismhasbeen
approvedandisoperablefromtheinsidewith-
outtheuseofakeyorspecialknowledge.The
codealsorequiresinthiscasethatbuildingsbe
equippedwithsmokedetectors.
Therequirementofemergencyescapewin-
dowsassuresapersoneffectiveescapeor
rescueinashortperiodoftime.Becausefire
spreadingandblockageofnormalexitroutes,
timecannotbewastedbytheoccupanttrapped
byfiretryingtoopenarescuewindow.Any
impedimenttoescapeorrescuecausedby
securitydevices,inadequatewindowsize,dif-
ficultoperatingmechanisms,etc.,isacode
violation.
WHYESCAPEWINDOWS?
Thedimensionsprescribedinthecodeforexte-
riorwallopeningsusedinemergencysituations
arebasedonextensivetesting.
Theminimumwidthis20inches,theminimum
heightis24inches,theminimumsquarefeet5.7
(820.8squareinches)andthemaximumsillheight
fromtheflooris44inches.Gradeflooropenings
mayhaveaminimumopeningsizeof5squarefeet.
Egresswindowswithasillheightbelowgradewill
requireawindowwellthatisatleast36"x36"to
areathewindowopens.Windowwellsrequire
permanentladdersiftheyareover44"deep.
WHATSIZEISNEEDED?

2. ForAdditionalInformation
pleasecallorvisit:
CityofSalina
DepartmentofDevelopmentServices
Room201
City-CountyBuilding
300W.Ash
Salina,Kansas
Phone:(785)309-5715
FAX:(785)309-5713
TDD:(785)309-5747
Website:www.salina-ks.gov
Openablearea=
5.7sq.ft.*
20"Clear
41"Clear
Floor
44"
Minimum
Sizefor
20"clear
width
EMERGENCYESCAPE
ANDRESCUEWINDOWS
I.R.C.SectionR310
MinimumSizeWindowfor20"ClearWidth
341/8"Clear
44"
Floor
Minimum
Sizefor
24"clear
height
24"Clear
The20inchwidthminimumwasconcluded
because:
1.20inchwidthprovidesroomtoplacea
ladderatwindowopening.
2.20inchwidthisenoughtoallowfire
personnelentrywithrescueequipment.
The24inchheightwasbasedonroomneeded
toadmitfirepersonnelwithgear.
*The5.7"minimalareamaybereducedto
5'2"forcertainapplications.
Rev.10/08
REQUIREMENTS
FORWINDOWS
ASSPECIFIEDBY
INTERNATIONAL
RESIDENTIAL
CODE
EXITSAND
EMERGENCY
ESCAPEWINDOWS