Life Safety (LS) (Nursing Care Center / Nursing Care Center)
Means of Egress - Corridor Storage/Clutter
Modify | April 11, 2016
Can items be stored in areas designated as egress access corridors?
Items cannot be stored in corridors that are designated as egress access corridors as defined by NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (2012 edition) no matter how wide the corridor. Corridor alcoves can be used for storage as long as the stored items do not infringe into the corridor. Dead-end corridors may be used for storage or sitting areas as long as it occupies less than 50 square feet of space, and does not inhibit egress. Wheeled items that are in-use (rule-of-thumb of less than 30-minutes) can reside in an egress access corridor. Only crash carts, designated as emergency medical equipment permanently in-use, can be stored in corridors. Isolation carts and chemotherapy carts, when associated with a specific patient, are also considered permanently in-use, therefore can be in the corridor. However, equipment considered in-use must be removed from an egress corridor in the event of an emergency. If the area can be designated a suite (see NFPA 18/19.2.5), then effective management of items in the suite are to be managed to achieve unobstructed movement within the suite since the corridor is considered an intervening room. If the hospital is a mixed occupancy, and the corridor in question is within an occupancy other than a health care or ambulatory health care occupancy, refer to the appropriate occupancy chapter of the Life Safety Code for direction. [LS.02.01.20, LS.03.01.20]
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