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Q: We have an existing healthcare occupancy hospital that is fully sprinklered. My questions are: 1) Are the corridor walls required to be smoke tight? 2) Are the corridor doors …
Q: We are a physician’s clinic building and we have a section of wall in a corridor above a door where the drywall on both sides of the smoke barrier …
Q: What is the rule on parking beds (gurneys) outside ORs in corridors? A: In a hospital, the required width of the corridor must be 8 feet where an inpatient …
Q: NFPA 101-2012; 19.2.3.4(2) allows "non-continuous projections not more than 6 in. from the corridor wall, above the handrail height", but the ADA-2010 Standard [§204] only allows projections of 4 …
Q: We have quite a few rooms throughout our facility that initially required automatic closing and latching hardware for fire requirements. These rooms have now been 'converted' to office use, …
Q: Is it allowed to disable a corridor door's closer by removing the arm in order to keep it open while working inside of the office in a healthcare facility? I …
Q: I just would like to confirm: When you say a 4-inch projection is allowed into the corridor is that for one side of the corridor or is that for …
Q: Does the 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code permit existing suite doors that open into the corridor to be compliant if they do not latch shut? We have …
Q: In regards to corridor width, section 19.2.3.4 of the 2012 LSC discusses that a corridor has to be at least 48-inches outside of a sleeping room in clear width …
Q: A deficiency was found by CMS on a recent survey that stated 'staff failed to provide a safe and hazard free environment by not having all doors protecting corridor …
Q: Someone just asked me a question and I haven’t thought about this one before. This AHJ is enforcing the IBC but I’m looking for an NFPA viewpoint and of …
Q: Do transaction windows in a smoke resistive non-rated corridor wall in a healthcare occupancy need be self-closing? A: It depends on what space the window is open to. Section …
Q: We previously built personal protective equipment (PPE) cabinets that are permanently mounted to the wall. These cabinets protrude in to the hallway 5-inches. The previous NFPA guidelines allowed 6-inch …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... The good news is you have an alcove in the corridor where you can store …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... The discharge door for a stairwell opened out onto the 1st floor corridor, where egress …
Q: Is there a limit to the size an alcove can be in a smoke compartment right off of the corridor? I understand equipment can be stored in alcoves but …
Q: We have an engineer who is telling us that the 2012 Life Safety Code requires our corridor doors to be fire-rated. He is referencing Table 8.3.4.2 which says exit-access …
Q: If I had a hallway (breezeway which connects two healthcare occupancies) which is greater than 8 feet wide (approximately 12ft) and carts of clean linen are being stored on …
Q: Are closet doors located inside a corridor considered corridor doors and do they have to meet life and safety codes referring to corridor doors? A: It depends…. What does …
Q: In regards to suite separations, section 18.2.5.7.1.2 of 2012 LSC requires walls separating suites to meet requirements for corridor walls, which have to be constructed to limit transfer of …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... These portable X-ray units were double-parked in the adjunct corridor to the radiology control room …
Q: Is there a codified requirement for doors in a cabinet mounted in a hospital egress corridor? We have worked on projects when a nurse server; i.e., pass through cabinet, …
Q: It appears that the LSC allows up to 50 square feet of unprotected storage but also includes language that suggests it may need to be protected in accordance with …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... Do you ever think about your corridor wall sconce light fixtures projecting more than 4-inches into …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... Sorry for another out-of-focus picture. I was still having difficulty adjusting to my new smart …
Q: We have a behavioral health unit and our administration would like to install lockers for visitors. However, there is only one location for these lockers and that is in …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... I apologize for the photo being out of focus. I only had my new smart …
Q: I have a CEO that wants furnishings (seating) in the corridor. I informed her that would be acceptable if we maintained five feet and the furnishings are bolted to …
Q: I have a healthcare occupancy under existing construction. The building was built back in the 50's and 60's, with a major renovation in 1992. The available plans have indicated …
Continuing in a series of strange things that I have seen while consulting at hospitals... Where do you see public pay-phones in a hospital, anymore....? In the behavioral health unit, …
Q: What is the minimum acceptable clearance required in an Emergency Department corridor? Currently there is a crash cart stored for rapid accessibility and the distance directly in front of …
Continuing in a series of strange things I have seen while consulting at hospitals... This looks like an adjunct corridor, one that is not used by patients. It doesn't have …
Q: With the adoption of the new 2012 Life Safety Code by CMS, we had a discussion about projections from the corridor wall. Since the LSC only allows projections to …
Q: A deficiency was found by CMS on a recent survey that stated 'staff failed to provide a safe and hazard free environment by not having all doors protecting corridor …
Q: Our life safety drawings identify the corridors in our hospital as being smoke partitions. My question is do wall penetrations above the dropped ceiling need to be sealed with …
Q: A hospital has 2 different suites with double egress entry doors and the Joint Commission surveyor noted that these doors are supposed to have latching hardware because they are …
Q: We have a double egress, cross-corridor door which will enter a suite under a renovation project. The suite wall is also an existing smoke barrier wall, separating smoke compartments …
Q: If I had a hallway (breezeway which connects two healthcare occupancies) which is greater than 8 feet wide (approximately 12ft) and beds and other equipment (usually broken chairs) are …
Q: I understand that with the adoption of the new 2012 Life Safety Code there is a change in corridor projections from 6 inches to 4 inches. Would this new …
Q: I have a nursing home that is over 20 years old that has carpet on the corridor walls below the handrails. I am been told that this carpet must …
Q: We have a corridor that connects an existing elevator lobby on the 2nd floor of a three story hospital to a new addition. The corridor is used for the …
Q: Can you give me some direction in the Life Safety Code on where alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) dispensers are not allowed in business occupancy corridors? A: Take a look …
Q: We have a connecting bridge between two of our buildings. On one side of the bridge is healthcare occupancy and on the other side is business occupancy. There is …
Q: Is there a code that says anything about adding a vent through a door that is in the corridor of our hospital? A: Well… you might be able to …
Corridor doors are one of the most common components of the means of egress, yet their significance is often overlooked, possibly because there are so many of them in a …
Q: Are all types of corridor doors exempt from having to meet the requirements of NFPA 80? A: The answer is no. If the corridor door is a fire-rated door, …
Q: What is the required width for an exit access corridor in an office building? A: That depends on the occupancy classification of the building. If the building is classified …
Q: These corridor doors (i.e. patient rooms); if they are in a 1-hour fire barrier then is it okay for them to only be rated20-minute and not ¾ hour? A: …
Q: Do you think adding tons of signage, and coat hooks would be acceptable on a patient room door? A: Well…. That depends. Coat hooks on a non-fire rated door? …
Q: If the corridor doors are only required to resist fire for 20 minutes and someone plasters signage all over them or loads them up with coat racks adding to …
Q: I have read that corridor doors to patient rooms are not required to have closers. If they do have closers, I was told they can have the type that …
Q: Can you give me the NFPA Life Safety Code (2000 edition) reference showing 8 foot required width in egress corridors in an existing healthcare occupancy? A: There is no …
Q: I am working on an aesthetic corridor remodel for a hospital. Can you please tell me if there are specific requirements as to handrail locations (i.e- one side of the …
The following comment is a result of an article that I ran last August on corridor clutter (search: Comments on Corridor Clutter), which quoted Randy Snelling, the Chief Physical Environment …
Randy Snelling, the Chief Physical Environment Officer, for DNV-GL Healthcare Inc. spoke at the recent ASHE annual conference in Chicago, and I thought his views on corridor clutter were worth …
I have seen many facility managers (and surveyors for that matter) incorrectly refer to a door as a 'corridor door'. It appears that they believe as long as the door …
I want to clarify a confusing point in the seven-year old CMS S&C memo 07-18 issued April 20, 2007. This is a memo which CMS wanted to explain that corridor …
Q: The health care facility where I work needs additional privacy on the nursing floor from the rest of the building. I would like to know if we could mount …
When does a wide spot in the corridor have to meet the requirements for areas open to the corridor? This question was raised to me in regards to a clean linen …
I was recently asked what the Life Safety Code required for the thickness and composition of a corridor door in new healthcare occupancy construction. The individual asking me the question …
Q: We have wall mounted recessed cabinets in our corridors next to the patient room doors that have access doors on both the corridor side and the patient room side …
Q: During a recent survey, we were cited for not maintaining at least 36 inches of clear width in our suites for exiting purposes. I thought one of the advantages …
Q: Our Risk Management Department has conducted an assessment of our waiting areas in our hospital. They are stating that staff should be able to see all patrons who are …
In regards to corridor clutter, one of the most frequent comments safety professionals hear from nurses and other point-of-care workers, is "I have no place to put the ____" and …
Utility rooms, whether they are clean utility rooms, or soiled utility rooms, are not required to be locked according to any NFPA standard, Joint Commission standard or CMS Condition or …
Here is a change in the Life Safety Code that I believe will do more harm than good: Changing what can be left unattended in hospital corridors. Currently, the 2000 …
Q: Why are corridors within the business offices of our hospital permitted to be 44” rather than the 8’ that the rest of the hospital has to maintain? Our hospital …
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