S-3, r. 2 - Regulation respecting safety in public buildings

Section 16 Disposition versions

2012-09-01

16. Doors:

(1)  (Paragraph revoked).

(2)  Any door of a means of egress shall:

(a)  have a minimum headroom clearance of 1.88 m; a closing device or any other device shall be installed in such a way as to maintain the headroom clearance of a doorway to at least 1.85 m;

(b)  (subparagraph revoked);

(c)  open in the direction of exit, if:

i.  it is installed in an exit or in the access to the exit;

ii.  it leads to a public corridor or to another place giving access to exits from a room intended for more than 60 persons or if this room contains hazardous substances. Such door shall be installed so that it does not restrict or obstruct the minimum width of the corridor. However, this requirement does not apply to a building built before 6 March 1971;

(d)  (subparagraph revoked);

(e)  be clearly identifiable if it is made out of transparent glass (adjacent glass partition included), in order to avoid collision;

(f)  open onto a landing with a width and length measuring at least the width of the door;

(g)  not open directly from a rising flight but from a landing of at least 450 mm wide.

(3)  Exit doors:

(a)  shall be clearly identifiable; no hangings, draperies, mirrors or ornaments shall conceal or obscure such exit doors;

(b)  situated on the ground floor shall not open on a public thoroughfare;

(c)  shall not open directly onto a step. Should there be danger of blockage from ice or snow, an exit door may open onto not more than one step which shall not exceed 150 mm in height;

(d)  normally required to be kept closed, shall be provided with a reliable self-closing mechanism; exit doors shall not, at any time, be secured in an open position;

(e)  when fastened, except in places where persons are under legal restraint, shall be provided with a mechanism such that they can be readily opened with a push, without the use of keys; such mechanism shall be easy to operate, even in the dark;

(f)  in an assembly occupancy, a hospital or special care institution and an accommodation building, except for an asylum:

i.  shall not be fastened while the building is occupied; but

ii.  when fastened, the mechanism referred to in subparagraph e shall be such that a pressure of 90 newtons applied in the direction of egress will release the mechanism and allow the door to swing wide open.

However, means of egress of a hospital or special care centre may be locked on condition that such a practise is justified due to the mental incapacity of persons therein or due to the type of treatment they are undergoing and that this be provided for in the plan and evacuation procedure for the building.

(4)  Revolving doors shall:

(a)  be of a collapsible type;

(b)  have hinged doors providing equivalent units of exit width located adjacent to them but not between them;

(c)  be used only as an exit from the ground floor level;

(d)  not be used at the foot of any stairway;

(e)  not serve as a means of egress for high load occupancy floors or for a hospital or special care institution;

(f)  not receive credit as more than one-half unit of exit width.

R.R.Q., 1981, c. S-3, r. 4, s. 16; O.C. 88-91, s. 13.