Last edited 24 Jan 2025

Final exit for escape routes

Approved document B, Fire Safety, Volume 2, Buildings other than dwelling houses (2019 edition), defines a final exit as:

The end of an escape route from a building that gives direct access to a street, passageway, walkway or open space, and is sited to ensure that people rapidly disperse away from the building so that they are no longer in danger from fire and/or smoke. NOTE: Windows are not acceptable as final exits.

NB Approved document B previously defined a final exit as:

The termination of an escape route from a building giving direct access to a street, passageway, walkway or open space, and sited to ensure the rapid dispersal of persons from the vicinity of a building so that they are no longer in danger from fire and/or smoke. Windows are not acceptable as final exits.

The Code of practice: Hardware for fire and escape doors, Issue 5, published by DHF and GAI in November 2024, defines a final exit simply as 'an exit from a building where people can continue to disperse in safety and where they are no longer in danger from fire and/ or smoke'

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