§ 27-371 Doors.
Exit doors and doors providing access to exits shall comply with the following:
(a) Exit doors. Doors for required exits shall be self-closing swinging doors with a one and one-half hour fire protection rating, except in occupancy group J-3 buildings and except that:
(1) Exterior street floor exit doors having an exterior separation of more than fifteen feet need not have a fire-protection rating.
(2) Doors into stairs and exit passageways shall have at least a three-quarter hour fire protection rating.
(b) Corridor doors. Doors that provide access to interior corridors required to have a one hour fire-resistance rating shall be self-closing swinging fire doors with a three-quarter hour fire-protection rating, except that in buildings classified in occupancy group G, in which an acceptable interior fire alarm system is installed and in which regular supervised fire drills are held, the doors to rooms or spaces devoted exclusively to nonhazardous uses in occupancy group G need not be fire-rated, provided they are swinging, self-closing one and three-quarter inch solid core wood, and have a maximum area of seven hundred twenty square inches of one-quarter inch thick wired glass vision panels. Other corridor doors except those provided for in subdivision (d) of section 27-369 of this article, shall be self-closing, swinging, noncombustible or one and three-quarter inch solid core wood doors, except that in buildings classified in occupancy group H-2 the doors need not be self-closing. Noncombustible mail slots having an area not exceeding forty square inches may be provided in corridor doors when the opening is protected by a closure activated by gravity or a spring device so as to keep it closed when not in use. Noncombustible louvers may be installed in corridor doors opening into toilets, service sink closets, and electric closets. Notwithstanding the foregoing restrictions in this subdivision, doors not prohibited by subdivision (d) of this section may open from spaces into corridors when in compliance with all of the provisions of paragraph three of subdivision (h) of section 27-370 of this article.
(c) Smoke stop doors. Smoke stop doors shall be self-closing, swinging doors of metal, metal covered, or one and three-quarter inch solid core wood with clear wire glass panels having a minimum area of six hundred square inches per door and a maximum area of twelve hundred ninety-six square inches per door, except that in buildings not over two stories high, smoke stop doors may be of one and three-eighths inch solid core wood with clear wire glass panels, unless the doors are also used as horizontal exits in which case they shall comply with the provisions of subdivision (b) of section 27-373 of this article. In addition, smoke stop doors may be constructed of tempered glazing or the equivalent and be protected by sprinkler heads constructed in accordance with subchapter seventeen of this chapter and installed a maximum of six feet (6'-0") on centers on each side of the opening. Smoke stop doors may be double-acting but shall close the opening completely with only such clearance as is reasonably necessary for proper operation. Smoke stop doors shall normally be in the closed position, except that they may be left open if they are arranged to close automatically by an approved device which is actuated by an interior fire alarm system meeting the requirements of subchapter seventeen of this chapter or upon smoke detection. Tempered glass smoke stop doors shall be marked where required in accordance with the rules of the board of standards and appeals.
(d) Prohibited doors. Vertically sliding doors, rolling shutters, and folding doors shall not be used as exit doors or as corridor doors, except that overhead garage doors may serve as exits from buildings classified in occupancy group J-3, and except that sliding or rolling doors or gates may be used in F-2 places of assembly provided they are kept open when the place of assembly is occupied. Revolving doors may be used only to the extent permitted by subdivision (m) of section 27-371 of this article. Automatic horizontally sliding fire doors shall be permitted only in horizontal exits in fire divisions required to have a four hour fire-resistance rating as specified in table 5-3.
(e) Door opening widths. The capacity of exit and corridor door openings shall be as listed in table 6-1. Door jambs or stops and the door thickness when open shall not reduce the required width by more than three inches for each twenty-two inches of width. The maximum width of any swinging door leaf shall be forty-eight inches. The minimum nominal width of corridor and exit door openings shall be thirty-six inches, except that where a door opening is divided by mullions into two or more door openings, the minimum nominal width of each such opening shall be thirty-two inches. The minimum nominal width of other door openings shall be as follows:
(1) Door openings to all habitable and occupiable rooms-thirty-two inches.
(2) Door swinging in pairs (no mullion), opening-forty-eight inches.
(3) Door openings to rooms used by bedridden patients and all single door openings used by patients in buildings classified occupancy group H-2-forty-four inches.
(4) Door openings to toilet rooms in buildings to which the public has free access shall be thirty-two inches.
(5) Door openings giving access to at least one toilet, lavatory and bathtub or shower in each dwelling unit, in buildings or spaces classified in occupancy group J-1 or J-2, when such dwelling unit is accessible to individuals in wheel chairs-thirty-two inches.
(6) Door openings giving access to all toilets, lavatories and bathtubs or showers serving single room occupancies which are accessible to individuals in wheelchairs-thirty-two inches.
(7) Door openings for people having physical disabilities shall additionally comply with the requirements of reference standard RS 4-6.
(f) Door heights. The minimum nominal door opening height for exit and corridor doors shall be six feet eight inches. Door jambs, stops, sills, and closers shall not reduce the clear opening to less than six feet six inches.
(g) Door swing. Exit doors, corridor doors from rooms or spaces classified in high hazard occupancy group A, or from factories as defined in the labor law, and corridor doors from rooms required to have more than one door under the provisions of section 27-365 of article four of this subchapter, shall swing in the direction of exit travel, except:
(1) Doors from rooms of instruction in buildings classified in occupancy group G, having an occupant load of less than seventy-five persons.
(2) Exterior street floor exit doors from lobbies in buildings classified in occupancy groups J-2 and J-3.
(3) Exterior street floor exit doors from spaces in occupancy group C or E not exceeding two thousand square feet in area, and occupied by less than fifty persons, where the maximum travel distance to a door does not exceed fifty feet.
(h) Floor level. The floor on both sides of all exit and corridor doors shall be essentially level and at the same elevation for a distance, perpendicular to the door opening, at least equal to the width of the door leaf, except that where doors lead out of a building the floor level inside may be seven and one-half inches higher than the level outside.
(i) Closed doors. Exit doors and corridor doors shall normally be kept in the closed position, except that corridor doors in buildings classified in occupancy group H-2 shall be exempt from this requirement.
(j) Door and window hardware. Doors and windows shall be equipped with hardware as follows:
(1) Fire protection requirements.
a. Exit doors and corridors shall be readily openable at all times from the side from which egress is to be made and shall not require a key to operate from that side, except that:
1. Locks may be used in penal and mental institutions and areas, where required for security.
2. Locks may be used in banks, museums, jewelry stores and other places where extra safeguards are required, subject to the approval of the commissioner, and provided the locks are equipped with electrical release devices for remote control in case of emergency.
3. Stairways leading from the top floor to a roof may be provided with locked wire mesh gates openable by key in buildings classified in occupancy group G. The use of a hook and eye closing device on the inside of all doors to roofs shall be permitted.
b. Doors opening into interior stair enclosures shall not be locked from either side with the following exceptions:
1. Doors may be located to prevent access to the stair at the street floor.
2. In buildings classified in occupancy group E, less than one hundred feet in height, the doors may be locked on the stair side on each floor above the street floor.
3. In buildings classified in occupancy group E, one hundred feet or more in height, and existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height, the doors may be locked on the stair side above the street floor except that at intervals of four stories or less, doors shall be openable from the stair side without the use of a key to permit reentry at such floors. In addition, the door on every floor where a keyed switch is required by the provisions of subchapter eighteen of this chapter shall be openable from the stair side without the use of a key to permit reentry at such floors.
4. When a locked door is provided with an automatic fail safe system for opening such door in the event of the activation of any automatic fire detecting device or when any elevator in readiness as provided in section 27-989 of subchapter eighteen of this chapter is activated, such door shall be deemed as openable from the stairside. The installation of such automatic fail safe system shall comply with the requirements of reference standards RS17-3A and RS17-3B, whichever is applicable. Stair reentry signs required under section 27-394 of article nine of this subchapter shall specify that reentry is provided only during fire emergencies.
c. Latch bolts shall be provided on all exit doors and corridor doors to hold them in a closed position against the pressure of expanding gases except that this requirement shall not apply to doors in stair enclosures in buildings classified in occupancy group G.
(2) Security requirements. The following provisions shall apply to all buildings erected or altered after December sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight that may be classified in residential occupancy group J-2. Existing buildings in such group shall comply with the requirements of article eleven of subchapter two.
a. Building entrance doors and other exterior exit doors shall be equipped with heavy duty lock sets with auxiliary latch bolts to prevent the latch from being manipulated by means other than a key. Latch sets shall have stopwork in the inside cylinder controlled by a master key only. Outside cylinders of main entrance door locks shall be operated by the tenants' key, which shall not be keyed to also open the tenant's apartment door. A light or lights shall be provided at or near the outside of the front entranceway of the building providing not less than five foot candles intensity measured at the floor level for the full width of the entranceway.
b. Doors to dwelling units shall be equipped with a heavy duty latch set and a heavy duty dead bolt operable by a key from the outside and a thumb-turn from the inside. Those doors shall also be equipped with a chain guard so as to permit partial opening of the door. Dwelling unit entrance doors shall also be equipped with a viewing device located so as to enable a person on the inside of the entrance door to view a person immediately outside.
c. All openable windows shall be equipped with sash locks designed to be openable from the inside only. Grilles lockable from the inside only may be placed on the inside or outside of windows that are accessible from grade but that do not serve to provide access to exits.
d. Buildings classified in occupancy group J-2 containing eight or more dwelling units shall be provided with an intercommunication system located at the door giving access to the main entrance hall or lobby, consisting of a device or devices for voice communication between the occupant of each dwelling unit and a person outside said door to the main entrance hall or lobby and permitting such dwelling unit occupant to release the locking mechanism of said door from the dwelling unit.
(k) Panic hardware.
(1) Exit doors shall be equipped with fire exit bolts when providing an exit from:
a. Buildings classified in occupancy group G, except exit doors opening directly outdoors at grade from rooms having an occupant load of less than seventy-five persons,
b. F-1 places of assembly,
c. F-2, F-3 and F-4 places of assembly having an occupant load exceeding three hundred persons, except places of assembly having doors that are not equipped with locks and are openable at all times.
(2) Fire exit bolts shall be of an approved type, and shall release when a pressure exceeding fifteen pounds is applied to the releasing device in the direction of exit travel. The bars or panels shall extend at least two-thirds of the width of the door and shall be placed at least thirty inches, but not more than forty-four inches above the floor.
(l) Power operated doors. Power operated doors or power assisted manually operated doors, may be used as exit or corridor doors provided they remain closed in case of power failure but shall be manually operable. No power operated door shall be credited as a required exit unless it swings in the direction of exit travel.
(m) Revolving doors. Revolving doors shall not be used as exits in buildings classified in occupancy group F-1 or F-2, G, or H; nor shall revolving doors be used in any occupancy as interior doors providing access to exits, at the foot of stairs, or at the head of basement stairs. Where revolving doors are used as exits, they shall comply with the following:
(1) They may provide not more than one unit or exit width for each revolving door and not more than fifty per cent of the required exit capacity at any location, provided that the revolving doors are located adjacent to, or within twenty feet, of swinging doors that provide the remaining required exit capacity at that location.
(2) They shall be collapsible, and designed and constructed so that:
a. Each wing is independently supported by a hanger with a corrosion resistant safety release which, when pressure of between sixty to eighty pounds is exerted simultaneously on the wings on opposite sides of the door pivot, the door wings will fold back on themselves in the direction of egress.
b. Each wing is provided with at least one push bar and glazed with at least 7/1932 in. plate or tempered glass.
c. The inside diameter of the enclosure is at least six feet six inches.
d. The freely operable maximum rate of revolving speed is controlled so that it is not greater than fifteen rpm.
e. The upper surface of the floor finish within the door enclosure is flush with the adjacent floor area, and permanently secured in place.
(3) The owner shall be responsible at all times for the operation and maintenance of revolving doors, and shall have the doors inspected at intervals not to exceed six months. All parts of the doors, including the safety releases and speed control mechanism, shall be maintained in good working order. Inspection reports shall be made in writing and kept on file at the premises for at least two years.
(n) Turnstiles. No turnstile or other device designed to restrict travel shall be placed so as to obstruct any required exit, except that approved turnstiles that turn freely in the direction of exit travel may be used in any occupancy where revolving doors are permitted. Turnstiles shall be not more than thirty-six inches nor less than thirty inches high and shall be of such design as to provide twenty-two inches clear width as the turnstile rotates. Each turnstile may be credited with a capacity of one unit of exit width. Not more than fifty per cent of the required exit capacity may be provided by turnstiles at any location. The balance of the required exit capacity shall be provided by swinging doors located within twenty feet of the turnstiles. Turnstiles over thirty-six inches high shall meet the applicable requirements of this code for revolving doors.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1987/058.
