San Francisco County Municipal Code Ch. 8 Exits

Sec. 800. General. Sec. 801. Exits, Stairs and Occupant Load. Sec. 802. Stairways and Exit Corridors. Sec. 803. Basement Stairways. Sec. 804. Reserved. Sec. 805. Stairway to Roof. Sec. 806. Stairway Enclosures. Sec. 807. Smoke Barriers. Sec. 808. Elevator Enclosures. Sec. 809. Exit Connection from Rear Yard to Street. Sec. 810. Unobstructed Means of Egress.

SEC. 800. GENERAL.

In those buildings constructed or converted to R-1 or R-2 Occupancy, in which the Building Code, Fire Code, or regulations of the State Fire Marshal in effect at the time of construction or alteration require provisions other than this Code, the Building Code, Fire Code, and State Fire Marshal provisions shall prevail. (Added by Ord. 350-95, App. 11/3/95; amended by Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007) SEC. 801. EXITS, STAIRS AND OCCUPANT LOAD. (a) See Chapters 1A, 3 and 10 of the Building Code. Exit facilities for buildings constructed, altered or converted after July 26, 1958 shall comply with the codes in effect at the time of construction, alteration or conversion, or the provisions of Chapter 10 of the Building Code, whichever is the less restrictive, as is applicable to that occupancy. Exit facilities for buildings constructed, altered or converted prior to July 26, 1958 shall meet the following minimum requirements listed below, or where less than two exits are required shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 10 of the Building Code, including all requirements of the current Building Code for fire resistance and exits, whichever is the less restrictive: Each of the following buildings now in existence shall be provided with access for each dwelling unit or guest room to two exits which shall be accessible either directly or through a public hallway and shall be so located that if access to one be denied, the other shall be available: (1) In apartment houses, hotels (and two-family dwellings per Section 310.4 of the Building Code). Where exits are arranged so that one exit must be passed to get to the other, intervening doorways between any exit doorway on a dead-end corridor more than 20 feet in depth and the main exit corridor shall be provided with a three-quarter-hour opening protector or a sprinkler head located on the room side of the doorways as well as in the dead-end corridor. (2) Every single-family dwelling having more than two stories in which there are rental units shall have not less than two exits from the uppermost stories to a floor of occupancy below which has two exits to the exterior of the building. (3) Every building or usable portion thereof shall have at least one exit and shall have not less than two exits where the occupant load exceeds the number set forth in Table 10A. In all occupancies floors above the first story having an occupant load of more than 10 shall have not less than two exits. (4) In all buildings, in basements, dwelling units, and sleeping units below the fourth story, said sleeping rooms shall have an emergency egress of 5.7 square feet with minimum of 20-inch width and 24-inch height and a finished height sill not more than 44 inches above the floor. See Building Code Section 1031. (5) Sleeping rooms below the fourth story shall have at least one operable window or exterior door approved for emergency escape or rescue. The units shall be operable from the inside to provide a full clear opening without the use of separate tools. Buildings with additional stories shall provide egress per Chapter 10 of the Building Code. EXCEPTIONS: (i) Except as provided in Section 1006.3.4 of the Building Code, only one exit shall be required from the second floor within an individual unit. (ii) Two or more dwelling units on the second story may have access to only one common exit when the total occupant load does not exceed 10. (b) Exit Doors Require Manual Release. In all one and two-family dwellings, apartment houses, and hotels, required means of egress doors, including security gates, must be equipped with an approved manual release mechanism that shall be operable from the inside without the use of a key, tool or any special knowledge or effort. (c) Security Bars Require Manual Release. In all one and two-family dwellings, apartment houses, and hotels, security bars installed over an exterior window or door required for emergency rescue from a sleeping room, must be equipped with an approved manual release mechanism that shall be operable from the inside without the use of a key, tool or any special knowledge or effort. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 350-95, App. 11/3/95; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 232-25, File No. 250975, App. 11/21/2025, Eff. 12/22/2025, Oper. 1/1/2026) SEC. 802. STAIRWAYS AND EXIT CORRIDORS. (a) Exit Corridors. Exit corridors in buildings constructed, altered or converted prior to July 26, 1958, shall have a minimum width of 30 inches. (b) Stairways. Stairways in buildings altered or converted for use as an apartment house or hotel prior to July 26, 1958 shall have a minimum width of 30 inches. The rise and run of stairways need not be changed if part of the original building construction, except that is such buildings constructed, altered or converted after May 31, 1917 winding stairways are prohibited unless only used as a means of egress. (c) Stairway Handrails. Every stairway shall have at least one handrail. All stairways more than 44 inches in width shall have handrails for each side, and every stairway required to be more than 88 inches in width shall have intermediate handrails dividing the stairway into portions not more than 66 inches in width. See also Chapter 10 of the San Francisco Building Code.

EXCEPTION: Existing stairways in one-family and two-family dwellings shall have at least one handrail. (d) Closets and Storage Areas Under Stairs. Closets and storage areas under stairs in Group R, Divisions 1 and 2 Occupancies shall conform to Section 1011.7.3 of the Building Code. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 232-25, File No. 250975, App. 11/21/2025, Eff. 12/22/2025, Oper. 1/1/2026) SEC. 803. BASEMENT STAIRWAYS. See Section 1011.7.3 except as follows: Every stairway to a basement in existing apartment houses and hotels three or more stories in height shall be enclosed. Unrated doors on existing enclosures may be covered in an approved manner with 24 gauge galvanized iron and be made self-closing in lieu of the required opening protectors. Basements having direct access to a street need only be provided with an enclosure at the top of the stairs. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 232-25, File No. 250975, App. 11/21/2025, Eff. 12/22/2025, Oper. 1/1/2026) SEC. 804. RESERVED SEC. 805. STAIRWAY TO ROOF. See Section 1011.12 of the Building Code, except as otherwise approved. Stairway Penthouse Doors. See Section 1010 of the Building Code for installation of new doors and their construction requirements. The door to the roof from the penthouse or roof structure shall be self-closing, shall open outward, and shall be clad on the roof side and edges with approved sheet metal or constructed of other approved material. No stair penthouse door in any hotel or apartment house shall at any time be locked with a key, but may be fastened on the inside by a movable bolt or lock. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 350-95, App. 11/3/95; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 232-25, File No. 250975, App. 11/21/2025, Eff. 12/22/2025, Oper. 1/1/2026) SEC. 806. STAIRWAY ENCLOSURES. (a) Required. Every existing interior public stairway in an apartment house or hotel three or more stories in height shall be enclosed as set forth in this Section or with smoke barriers or shall be provided with sprinklers as set forth in Section 807. See also Section 504, Subsection (d). (b) Accessibility. Access to the stairway shall be available at each story level served by the stairway through a doorway. When opening from an exit corridor, the door shall swing in the direction of exit travel. (Added by Ord. 399-89, app. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007) SEC. 807. SMOKE BARRIERS. In buildings in which an existing Group R, Division 1 or 2 Occupancy is located on three or more stories and which does not have exit directly accessible from within each apartment or guest room without entering an exit corridor, every interior public stairway shall be enclosed as set forth in Section 806 of this Code or shall be provided with a smoke barrier and smoke stop door, as hereinafter described, to prevent fire and smoke from spreading, thereby cutting off the exit. When a hotel room or apartment opens directly upon the stairway so that the smoke barrier does not afford said room or apartment protection, said hotel room or apartment shall have a one- and-three-eighths-inch solid core wood door, an incombustible surfaced door or other similar approved door construction. Doors shall be equipped with an approved self-closing device. The smoke barrier and smoke stop door shall be located where directed by the Director and shall be constructed as follows: (1) In Type IV and V (V-A and V-B) buildings, the smoke barrier may consist of partitions containing wire glass with solid core wood

smoke stop doors. The doors shall be not less than one and three-eighths-inch thick, three feet wide, and six feet eight inches high equipped with an approved self-closing device. The smoke barrier may be of any approved similar construction except that wood panels and similar combustible materials shall not be permitted. (2) In other than Type IV and V (V-A and V-B) buildings, the smoke barrier partitions shall be entirely of incombustible construction except for the smoke stop door and the trim and except that wire glass lights in the partition shall be permitted. The smoke stop door may be an unrated, solid-core wood door not less than one and three-eighths inch thick, three feet in width and six feet eight inches in height equipped with an approved self-closing device and may have wire glass lights therein. Smoke barrier doors may be held in an open position to allow for the necessary corridor ventilation, provided the means of holding the doors open include a smoke detection device and a heat activated device or a product of combustion detector connected to the restraining mechanism so that the doors are released upon the detection of smoke in the area or upon failure of the mechanism. There shall be no other means of preventing the doors from closing. The system shall be approved by the Director of the Department of Building Inspection. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 350-95, App. 11/3/95; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007) SEC. 808. ELEVATOR ENCLOSURES. In existing apartment houses and hotels, all elevator shafts shall be completely enclosed by walls and par- titions of incombustible surface construction with doors constructed of one-and-three-eighths-inch solid-core wood, wire-glass set in steel frames, steel-clad hollow-core wood or similar approved materials. Elevator shafts shall be ventilated as set forth in Chapter 30 of the Building Code. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 232-25, File No. 250975, App. 11/21/2025, Eff. 12/22/2025, Oper. 1/1/2026) SEC. 809. EXIT CONNECTION FROM REAR YARD TO STREET. See Chapter 1A of this Code. A rear yard to street passageway shall be provided for any building constructed or converted for use as an apartment house after 1909 in which there is an exit or means of egress terminating in the rear yard. Such passageways may be unprotected if constructed prior to September 1, 1917. For buildings constructed or converted after September 1, 1917 and prior to July 26, 1958, existing plaster on wood lath, existing galvanized metal over solid sheathing, or an approved automatic sprinkler system will be acceptable in lieu of the one-hour fire-resistive construction required. Openings into passageways shall be protected by covering wood doors with 24 gauge galvanized metal, installing wire glass in windows, or providing automatic sprinkler heads over each opening on the side opposite the passageway. (Added by Ord. 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007) SEC. 810. UNOBSTRUCTED MEANS OF EGRESS. (a) Required. Obstructions, including storage, shall not be placed in the required width of a means of egress, except projections as allowed by the Building Code. Means of egress shall not be obstructed in any manner and shall remain free of any material or matter where its presence would obstruct or render the means of egress hazardous. (Added by Ord. 192-02, App. 9/17/2002; amended by Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007)