Storey exit definition
Approved Document B2, ‘Fire safety: Buildings other than dwellinghouses’, defines a ‘storey exit’ as: 'A final exit, or a doorway that gives direct access into a protected stairway, firefighting lobby or external escape route. NOTE: If an institutional building is planned to enable progressive horizontal evacuation, a door in a compartment wall is considered a storey exit for the purposes of requirement B1.
The 2026 amendment to Approved Document B, Fire Safety, Volume 1: Dwellings, amends this to state: 'Storey exit: A final exit, or a doorway that gives direct access into a protected stairway, evacuation lift lobby within an evacuation shaft, firefighting lobby or external escape route. NOTE: If an institutional building is planned to enable progressive horizontal evacuation, a door in a compartment wall is considered a storey exit for the purposes of requirement B1.'
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles
Check out some of the best features and news from Designing Buildings as well as key stories from around the web.
Cut electricity bills to power growth
Coalition sends joint letter to the Chancellor.
Gasholders: a history in pictures. Book review.
Recognition, influence and growth
SocEnv identifies three strategic pillars in new strategy to 2045.
Discover the future of roofing, cladding and insulation.
New guidance for professional practice, cultural change and regulation in social housing.
The heritage of nuclear and conventional power stations.
New measures to stop people being ripped off
Government to protect families from cowboy builders and aggressive bailiffs.
New Futurebuild showcase brings an innovation-first approach.
National Planning Policy Framework
Understanding the 2026 changes.
ECA's public affairs priorities
Member consultation opens to shape priorities for 2027 to 2030.
Dutyholder responsibilities from 1 July 2026.
Where performance meets practice
The Building Envelope Stage at UKCW Birmingham.