- Author
- National Bureau of Standards
- Title
- Design and Construction of Building Exits.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NBS M151, October 10, 1935, 81 p.
- Keywords
- exits | building design
- Abstract
- The deplorable loss of life that occurs annually in building fires can be reduced by providing suitable exits. Building-code requirements vary widely as to how many exits are needed, what sizes they should be, and how the details concerning them should be worked out. To aid those interested in the problem, surveys of current practice in providing exits and of the rates at which people can effect their escape through different kinds of exits have been made. The methods employed in the surveys and the results are presented here in detail. To supplement the information thus obtained, opinions have been solicited from numberous architects, building officials, fire-protection experts, and others. Five methods of calculating exit width in current use are discussed. As a useful reference when local requirements are under consideration, suggested requirements are presented, together with notes on the reasoning employed in connection with them.