Egress!

[DavidLeBlanc]

Maybe this is my own phobia...

In another topic, someone was saying something about having bedrooms that have egress windows (which, I believe, are generally mandated by code anyway).

My general rule when looking at designs or thinking of my own floorplans is to never have a source of combustion (stove, heater, etc.) between living space in a room and the only/primary exit! That includes bathrooms - more people have died in old mobile home bathrooms that had only the tiny slit window mounted high up over the shower...

Don't put cookstoves by the kitchen door - put them on a wall away from the door. (Of course, if you have a kitchen big enough for 2 doors or a big window...)

Have fire extinguishers handy - at least one in the kitchen!

Many cabin designs with only one entrance door and small/high windows would make me nervous!

Lofts, especially over kitchens, with tiny gable end windows would also make me very nervous! Ditto for lofts that have their ladders/stairs right next to space heaters...

This is probably "like duh!" advice, but I thought it worth mentioning...

[Amanda_931]

Nicely put.

Decidedly not only your phobia.

[John Raabe]

Good advice especially for those tiny lofts where you stick the kids. (Wouldn't that be a horrible image?)

Have a way for them to get out a window.. maybe onto the porch roof or have a fire ladder stored at the window.

http://store.yahoo.com/flyyourflag/fialehofiesl.html

[JRR]

My elderly mother returned to her house after an extensive trip to find a surprise:  During her absense, some kids ...we never knew who exactly... broke into her house for a bit of mis-chef.  The evidence left behind told quite a story.
They started a fire in a fireplace, perhaps to roast marshmellows... who knows.   The fire was too ambitious and got out of the fireplace... burning the wooden floor and furniture.

The powdery residue and empty cylinder showed they then had the presence of mind to get the (recently installed) fire extinguisher from the kitchen and put out the blaze.

... gave us mixed feelings about our anonymous felons.

[glenn kangiser]

This is one reason Mike Oehler's Underground house plans make sense.  All rooms of the underground cabin have more than one way out, even on the uphill side.

[rwalter]

Here in NY if it is a bedroom its going to require at least one window that meets the 5.7 sq ft of unobstructed open space. That's code. Its good to design a window that size in every bedroom. The smallest Anderson double hung window to meet that specification is a 36x57. I'd recommend designing egress windows regardless of the location of exterior doors. Fires will spread faster than most people think. Its best to have multiple ways out of a building.

[rwalter]

I believe national building codes require 5.7 sq ft of open window space for all second floor bedroom windows and 5.0 sq ft for first floor.

[John Raabe]

The term "Egress Window" gives the impression that they are provided only for outward escape. In reality, their size, net openable area, and location from floor or grade is designed so a firefighter in full protective gear is able to fit through the opening to rescue an occupant.

This from one NY city... Your town may vary slightly but these are the general guidelines.

http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/bldgsafety/FormsHandouts/housing/EGRESS%20WINDOW%20REQUIREMENTS.pdf

[Amanda_931]

We ran into that issue when we were thinking about renting part of the church for a daycare center.  The place could have used new windows anyway, but I wasn't able to donate them, and since I was the only person who thought that they needed something other than single pane metal windows (think 50's era schools), the idea died.

Also thanks for the google cache.  My computer still hates .pdf files.  (occasions when I've tried to open two at a time it cries, and sometimes hangs up)

[borgdog]

The smallest Anderson double hung window to meet that specification is a 36x57.

Although I personally like the looks of double hung windows, they are not the most effiecient for an egress window, as only half the window actually opens at any one time.   Casements allow a smaller actual window size, a 24x36 I believe would actually fit the code, allowing more window placement flexibility.