Section 1020 — California Fire Code (Title 24, Part 9)

CORRIDORS

[BE] 1020.1 Construction. Corridors shall be fire-resistance rated in accordance with Table 1020.1. The corridor walls required to be fire-resistance rated shall comply with Section 708 of the California Building Code for fire partitions.

Exceptions:

A fire-resistance rating is not required for corridors in an occupancy in Group E where each room that is used for instruction has not less than one door opening directly to the exterior and rooms for assembly purposes have not less than one-half of the required means of egress doors opening directly to the exterior. Exterior doors specified in this exception are required to be at ground level.
A fire-resistance rating is not required for corridors contained within a dwelling unit or sleeping unit in an occupancy in Group R.
A fire-resistance rating is not required for corridors in open parking garages.
A fire-resistance rating is not required for corridors in an occupancy in Group B that is a space requiring only a single means of egress complying with Section 1006.2.
Corridors adjacent to the exterior walls of buildings shall be permitted to have unprotected openings on unrated exterior walls where unrated walls are permitted by Table 602 of the California Building Code and unprotected openings are permitted by Table 705.8 of the California Building Code .

6. A fire-resistance rating is not required for corridors within suites in a Group I-2 or I-2.1 constructed in accordance with Section 407.4.4 or 407.4.5 of the California Building Code.

[BE] 1020.1.1 Hoistway opening protection. Elevator hoistway openings shall be protected in accordance with Section 3006.2.1 of the California Building Code .

[BE] 1020.2 Width and capacity. The required capacity of corridors shall be determined as specified in Section 1005.1, but the minimum width shall be not less than that specified in Table 1020.2.

Exception: In Group I-2 occupancies, corridors are not required to have a clear width of 96 inches (2438 mm) in areas where there will not be stretcher or bed movement for access to care or as part of the defend-in-place strategy.

[BE] 1020.3 Obstruction. The minimum width or required capacity of corridors shall be unobstructed.

Exception: Encroachments complying with Section 1005.7.

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MEANS OF EGRESS

[BE] TABLE 1020.1 CORRIDOR FIRE-RESISTANCE RATING

OCCUPANCY	OCCUPANT LOAD SERVED BY CORRIDOR	REQUIRED FIRE-RESISTANCE RATING (hours)
OCCUPANCY	OCCUPANT LOAD SERVED BY CORRIDOR	Without sprinkler system	With sprinkler systemc
H-1, H-2, H-3	All	Not Permitted	1
H-4, H-5,I	Greater than 30	Not Permitted	1
A_d_, B, F, M, S, U	Greater than 30	1	0
R-1, R-2, R-3, R-3.1, R-4	Greater than 10	Not Permitted	1
I-2a, I-2.1, I-4	Greater than 6	Not Permitted	1
I-3,R-2.1	Greater than 6	Not Permitted	1b
E	Greater than 10	1	1

a. For requirements for occupancies in Group I-2, see Sections 407.2 and 407.3 of the California Building Code . b. For a reduction in the fire-resistance rating for occupancies in Group I-3, see Section 408.8 of the California Building Code . c. Buildings equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2 where allowed. d. [SFM} See Section 1029.

[BE] TABLE 1020.2 MINIMUM CORRIDOR WIDTH

OCCUPANCY	MINIMUM WIDTH (inches)
Any facility not listed below	44
Access to and utilization of mechanical, plumbing or electrical systems or equipment	24
With an occupant load of less than 50	36
Within a dwelling unit	36
In Group E with a corridor having a occupant load of 100 or more	72
In corridors and areas serving stretcher traffic in ambulatory care facilities	72
Group I-2 in areas where required for bed movement	96
Corridors in Group I-2 and I-3 occupancies serving any area caring for one or more nonambulatory persons	96

For SI: 1 inch = 25.4 mm.

[BE] 1020.5 Air movement in corridors. Corridors shall not serve as supply, return, exhaust, relief or ventilation air ducts.

Exceptions:

Use of a corridor as a source of makeup air for exhaust systems in small rooms of 30 square feet or less that open directly onto such corridors, including toilet rooms, bathrooms, dressing rooms and janitor closets, shall be permitted, provided that each such corridor is directly supplied with outdoor air at a rate greater than the rate of makeup air taken from the corridor.
Where located within a dwelling unit, the use of corridors for conveying return air shall not be prohibited.
Where located within tenant spaces of 1,000 square feet (93 m ² ) or less in area, utilization of corridors for conveying return air is permitted.

[BE] 1020.4 Dead ends. Where more than one exit or exit access doorway is required, the exit access shall be arranged such that dead-end corridors do not exceed 20 feet (6096 mm) in length.

Exceptions:

In Group I-3, Condition 2, 3 or 4 occupancies, the dead end in a corridor shall not exceed 50 feet (15 240 mm).
In occupancies in Groups B, E, F, M, R-1, R-2, R-2.1, R-2.2, S and U, where the building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1, the length of the dead-end corridors shall not exceed 50 feet (15 240 mm).
A dead-end corridor shall not be limited in length where the length of the dead-end corridor is less than 2.5 times the least width of the dead-end corridor.

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Incidental air movement from pressurized rooms within health care facilities, provided that the corridor is not the primary source of supply or return to the room.

5. For health care facilities under the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Devel- opment (OSHPD), see the California Mechanical Code.

[BE] 1020.5.1 Corridor ceiling. Use of the space between the corridor ceiling and the floor or roof structure above as a return air plenum is permitted for one or more of the following conditions:

The corridor is not required to be of fire-resistancerated construction.
The corridor is separated from the plenum by fireresistance-rated construction.
The air-handling system serving the corridor is shut down upon activation of the air-handling unit smoke detectors required by the California Mechanical Code.
The air-handling system serving the corridor is shut down upon detection of sprinkler water flow where the building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system.
The space between the corridor ceiling and the floor or roof structure above the corridor is used as a component of an approved engineered smoke control system.

[BE] 1020.6 Corridor continuity. Fire-resistance-rated corridors shall be continuous from the point of entry to an exit, and shall not be interrupted by intervening rooms. Where the path of egress travel within a fire-resistancerated corridor to the exit includes travel along unenclosed exit access stairways or ramps, the fire-resistance-rating shall be continuous for the length of the stairway or ramp and for the length of the connecting corridor on the adjacent floor leading to the exit.

Exceptions:

Foyers, lobbies or reception rooms constructed as required for corridors shall not be construed as intervening rooms.
Enclosed elevator lobbies as permitted by Item 1 of Section 1016.2 shall not be construed as intervening rooms.

3. [SFM] In fully sprinklered office buildings, corridors may lead through enclosed elevator lobbies if all areas of the building have access to at least one required exit without passing through the elevator lobby.