The Single Exit Stair Debate

Nearly all jurisdictions in the United States enforce codes that require two exit stairwells in residential buildings above three or four stories. Housing advocates say that increasing the cap to six stories will lead to better housing options and lower costs. That logic has persuaded lawmakers in some U.S. states to pass laws that raise the allowed height of single exit stair buildings, bypassing state building codes. These changes have alarmed fire officials, who say that having taller buildings with only one stairwell puts the lives of residents and firefighters at risk. With that as the backdrop, NFPA recently held a symposium where experts from both sides of the debate gathered to make their case and come to a better understanding. Today on the podcast, we talk to an NFPA engineer who helped organize the symposium. She explains the reasoning on both sides of the argument, what was learned from the discussions,  and why single exit stair rules are suddenly such a big deal in statehouses and the code development world. LINKS: Read the recent NFPA Journal cover story on the single exit stair debate, "Single Exit, Many Questions." Read the recently released NFPA report detailing the findings from the Single Exit Stair Symposium.