Means of Egress
What is Means of Egress?
Encompasses everything related to ensuring occupants have a clear, safe and an effective route to evacuation in the event of an emergency.
Aspects of egress can include:
- Exit doors
- Fire Doors
- Paths of travel to exits or hallways,
- Stairways
- Fire isolated stairways & ramps
Having your means of egress checked and maintained regularly will ensure you that you and occupants within your building can be prepared when it comes to an emergency with a clear and effective path to evacuation that ultimately facilitates emergency response efforts.
Occupants safety within a building will be improved by identifying and addressing any potential hazards or obstructions that may increase the risk of accidents or injuries.
Requirements for Means of Egress
While this some may consider this as unnecessary and simple enough job to do on your own, it is quite common for the inside of buildings to have unclear paths to exit and a ineffective route of evacuation due to possible obstructions, poor emergency lighting and damaged doors.
In line with the National Construction Code (NCC) and Building Occupancy Permits, it is a requirement for the means of egress in a building to be inspected and maintained regularly.
The width of an exit path or path of travel to an exit must not be less than 1 meter according to the National Construction Code (NCC). So keep your pathways wide and free from obstruction.
Any type of fire door must have a push bar or handle that can be easily used by an occupant that doesn’t require much effort.
Exit doors are required to have handles that produce a pushing outwards motion with the aim of making an easier transition during an emergency if a occupant is assisting or carrying someone to exit.
It is recommended that all doors on commercial buildings have downward action lever handles and you should consider replacing your old school door knobs, especially those that are on exit doors.
Testing & Maintenance Schedule
Means of Egress are required to be inspected every quarter.
This means that this inspection will take place four times within a year, two of them being put together with testing of required for Portable Fire Equipment and Exit & Emergency Lighting that takes place every six months.
As part of this inspection, SafetyCom will cover six Essential Safety Measures (ESM) items. These items will be included in a comprehensive report, determining whether your building has been deemed compliant from a means of egress aspect.
As we may uncover defects during our inspections, our team will provide recommendations to ensure a solution can be created that you’re satisfied with to make your building meet compliance.
Want more information on Means of Egress Inspections?
Book in a free fire safety enquiry to speak with one of our team members