Means of egress rules and the Life Safety Code

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

January 17, 1983

Mr. Lars Qualben
Safety Consultant
M & M Protection Consultants
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Qualben:

This is in response to your letter of December 22, 1982, requesting a Subpart E clarification.

29 CFR 1910.39 does state that "the entire subpart is promulgated from NFPA 101-1970, Life Safety Code". However, NFPA 101-1970 does not have the force of law, and should not be used as a source for clarification of our Subpart E standards. OSHA will provide any clarifications required for our standards.

Our existing Subpart E standards do not regulate the specific parameters for a deadend corridor length, exit travel distance, or a specific number of exits. When Subpart E is modified in the future requirements could be proposed to regulate the above mentioned specific circumstances.

State or local governments enforce their building codes independently of the occupational safety and health standards. All workplaces must comply with OSHA's minimum Means of Egress standards; however, state or local government model building codes may enforce more stringent Means of Egress requirements within their jurisdiction.

If I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
John K. Barto
Chief, Division of Occupational
Safety Programming