NO EXIT Signs 1

[Cody2]

I am working on a job with a few exterior doors that will not be used as egress/emergency exits. Therefore it is my understanding according to NFPA 7.10.8.3 (see attached) that I need to provide an Illuminated NO EXIT sign above these doors. However every engineer I have talked to has never heard of this rule and I am having trouble finding one of these NO EXIT signs online that conform to these rules? Could anyone point me to some documentation that may clear things up for me?

Thanks,
Cody

 

[SwinnyGG]

7.10.8.3 directs you to put NO EXIT signs in locations that could be mistaken for, but are not, exits, but these signs do not have to be internally illuminated.

 

[Cody2]

Thanks, i must have misread the code, i thought it was saying that NO EXIT signs do need to be internally illuminated.

 

[SwinnyGG]

Thanks, i must have misread the code, i thought it was saying that NO EXIT signs do need to be internally illuminated.

In your defense, its sort of a contradiction in terms.

Per 7.10.7.2, NFPA treats an electronic sign (what I would call "internally illuminated") and a photoluminescent sign as equivalent, as long as they are both listed under the appropriate UL spec.

If you think about the term "internally illuminated" the way that I do, you read the code and assume that all signs must be electronic, when NFPA doesn't intend for that to be the rule.

 

[chicopee]

Instead of NO EXIT sign, you should think more about placing lighted exit signs with arrows showing the path of egress to the final exit doors. This method would be less confusing which would take away the time needed for an expedient exit.

 

[Cody2]

I have an egress path with EXIT Signs laid out in the design. I was just wondering if I also needed to place illuminated NO EXIT signs above doors what could be confused as exists but were not. Thanks to jgKRI though I now know that the architects can take care of the NO EXIT signs since they do not need any form of power or illumination

 

[SwinnyGG]

Instead of NO EXIT sign, you should think more about placing lighted exit signs with arrows showing the path of egress to the final exit doors. This method would be less confusing which would take away the time needed for an expedient exit.

I'll respond to this just in case someone searches on this topic- I think Cody2 has what he needs.

NFPA requires that an egress path is clearly marked with illuminated signage including directional arrows- this is very very clear.

NFPA 101 7.10.8.3.1 also states:

"Any door, passage, or stairway that is neither an exit nor a way of exit access and that is located or arranged so that it is likely to be mistaken for an exit shall be identified by a sign that reads as follows: NO EXIT"

These two marking schemes are not mutually exclusive, and one is not a replacement for the other. The code makes it clear that both are required. The term 'likely' leaves some interpretation up to the engineer or architect, but my advice, if I were asked (and the way that we operate in practice) is that EVERY door is either marked as an exit, or as no exit. Even in a big building with a couple hundred doors, signage starts looking very cheap when you compare it to the costs of a lawsuit and/or fine for code violation.