S.D. Admin. R. 61:15:07:12 - Fire escapes

An existing fire escape may be used as one of the exits required by § 61:15:07:09. The location and design must comply with the following:

(1) Access from a corridor may be through an intervening room if the travel distance does not exceed 150 feet from any area of the building to the egress opening and a direct, obvious, and unobstructed path of travel is provided. Such paths of exit travel may not pass through kitchens, storerooms, restrooms, closets, laboratories, industrial shops, or other similar places;

(2) In buildings over two stories high, all openings within 10 feet of the stair must be protected by 3/4-hour fire assemblies. Adjacent enclosure walls located within a recess or vestibule must be of at least one-hour fire-resistive construction;

(3) Egress from the building must be by a clear opening at least 20 inches wide, 24 inches high, and 5.7 square feet in area. The bottom of the opening may not be more than 44 inches above the floor;

(4) Fire escape stairways and balconies must support the dead load plus a live load of not less than 100 pounds per square foot and must be provided with a top and intermediate handrail on each side. The pitch of the stairway may not exceed 60 degrees with a minimum width of 18 inches. Treads may not be less than 4 inches wide and the rise between treads may not exceed 10 inches. All stair and balcony railings must support a horizontal force of not less than 50 pounds per lineal foot of railing;

(5) Balconies may not be less than 44 inches wide and may have no floor openings other than the stairway opening greater than 5/8 inch wide. Stairway openings in such balconies may not be less than 22 inches by 44 inches. The balustrade of each balcony may not be less than 36 inches high and may not have more than 9 inches between balusters;

(6) Fire escapes must extend to the roof or provide a gooseneck ladder between the top floor landing and the roof when serving buildings four or more stories high that have roofs with less than 4:12 slope. Fire escape ladders must be designed and connected to the building to withstand a horizontal force of 100 pounds per lineal foot; each rung must support a concentrated load of 500 pounds placed anywhere on the rung. All ladders must be at least 15 inches wide, located within 12 inches of the building, and must be placed flat against the face of the building. Ladder rungs must be 3/4 inch in diameter and must be located 12 inches on center. Openings for roof access ladders through cornices and similar projections must have minimum dimensions of 30 inches by 33 inches;

(7) The lowest balcony may not be more than 18 feet from the ground. Fire escapes must extend to the ground or be provided with counterbalanced stairs reaching to the ground;

(8) Fire escapes must not take the place of stairways required by the codes under which the building was constructed. Fire escapes must be kept clear and unobstructed at all times and must be maintained in good working order. All doors or windows providing access to a fire escape must be provided with fire escape signs.

Notes

S.D. Admin. R. 61:15:07:12

18 SDR 107, effective January 1, 1992; 23 SDR 32, effective September 11, 1996.

General Authority: SDCL 13-25-2.

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-25-3, 13-25-4.