[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1910.37]

[Page 149-150]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR

 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 

                                OF LABOR

 
PART 1910_OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS--Table of Contents

 
                        Subpart E_Means of Egress

 
Sec. 1910.37  Maintenance, safeguards, and operational features for 


exit routes.



    (a) The danger to employees must be minimized. (1) Exit routes must 

be kept free of explosive or highly flammable furnishings or other 

decorations.

    (2) Exit routes must be arranged so that employees will not have to 

travel toward a high hazard area, unless the path of travel is 

effectively shielded from the high hazard area by suitable partitions or 

other physical barriers.

    (3) Exit routes must be free and unobstructed. No materials or 

equipment may be placed, either permanently or temporarily, within the 

exit route. The exit access must not go through a room that can be 

locked, such as a bathroom, to reach an exit or exit discharge, nor may 

it lead into a dead-end corridor. Stairs or a ramp must be provided 

where the exit route is not substantially level.

    (4) Safeguards designed to protect employees during an emergency 

(e.g., sprinkler systems, alarm systems, fire doors, exit lighting) must 

be in proper working order at all times.

    (b) Lighting and marking must be adequate and appropriate. (1) Each 

exit route must be adequately lighted so that an employee with normal 

vision can see along the exit route.

    (2) Each exit must be clearly visible and marked by a sign reading 

``Exit.''

    (3) Each exit route door must be free of decorations or signs that 

obscure the visibility of the exit route door.

    (4) If the direction of travel to the exit or exit discharge is not 

immediately apparent, signs must be posted along the exit access 

indicating the direction of travel to the nearest exit and exit 

discharge. Additionally, the line-of-sight to an exit sign must clearly 

be visible at all times.

    (5) Each doorway or passage along an exit access that could be 

mistaken for an exit must be marked ``Not an Exit'' or similar 

designation, or be identified by a sign indicating its actual use (e.g., 

closet).



[[Page 150]]



    (6) Each exit sign must be illuminated to a surface value of at 

least five foot-candles (54 lux) by a reliable light source and be 

distinctive in color. Self-luminous or electroluminescent signs that 

have a minimum luminance surface value of at least .06 footlamberts 

(0.21 cd/m\2\) are permitted.

    (7) Each exit sign must have the word ``Exit'' in plainly legible 

letters not less than six inches (15.2 cm) high, with the principal 

strokes of the letters in the word ``Exit'' not less than three-fourths 

of an inch (1.9 cm) wide.

    (c) The fire retardant properties of paints or solutions must be 

maintained. Fire retardant paints or solutions must be renewed as often 

as necessary to maintain their fire retardant properties.

    (d) Exit routes must be maintained during construction, repairs, or 

alterations. (1) During new construction, employees must not occupy a 

workplace until the exit routes required by this subpart are completed 

and ready for employee use for the portion of the workplace they occupy.

    (2) During repairs or alterations, employees must not occupy a 

workplace unless the exit routes required by this subpart are available 

and existing fire protections are maintained, or until alternate fire 

protection is furnished that provides an equivalent level of safety.

    (3) Employees must not be exposed to hazards of flammable or 

explosive substances or equipment used during construction, repairs, or 

alterations, that are beyond the normal permissible conditions in the 

workplace, or that would impede exiting the workplace.

    (e) An employee alarm system must be operable. Employers must 

install and maintain an operable employee alarm system that has a 

distinctive signal to warn employees of fire or other emergencies, 

unless employees can promptly see or smell a fire or other hazard in 

time to provide adequate warning to them. The employee alarm system must 

comply with Sec. 1910.165.



[67 FR 67961, Nov. 7, 2002]