Last edited 05 Jan 2018

Travel distance

According to Approved Document B of the Building Regulations, 'Fire Safety', the 'travel distance' is the actual distance to be travelled by a person from any point within the floor area of a building to the nearest storey exit, having regard to the layout of walls, partitions and fittings.

The ‘travel distance’ is measured by way of the shortest route which if:

there is fixed seating or other fixed obstructions, is along the centre line of the seatways and gangways;
it includes a stair, is along the pitch line on the centre line of travel.

Where the internal layout of internal partitions, fittings etc. is not known when a building regulations application is made, direct distances may be used to assess travel distances, where the direct distance is taken to b 2/3rds of the travel distance.

The 'direct distance' is the shortest distance from any point within the floor area, measured within the external enclosures of the building, to the nearest storey exit, ignoring walls, partitions and fittings, other than the enclosing walls/partitions to protected stairways.

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