Unprotected escape route
Approved document B, Fire Safety, Volume 2, Buildings other than dwellinghouses, defines an escape route as:
‘...that part of the means of escape from any point in a building to a final exit’ where a final exit is, ‘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.’
Escape routes can be protected or unprotected, where an unprotected escape routes is:
The unprotected part of an escape route, ‘…which a person has to traverse before reaching either the safety of a final exit or the comparative safety of a protected escape route, i.e. a protected corridor or protected stairway. Unprotected escape routes should be limited in extent so that people do not have to travel excessive distances while exposed to the immediate danger of fire and smoke. Even with protected horizontal escape routes, the distance to a final exit or protected stairway needs to be limited because the structure does not give protection indefinitely.'
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Approved documents.
- Automatic release mechanism.
- Building evacuation.
- Fire.
- Fire compartment.
- Fire detection and alarm systems.
- Fire door.
- Fire Door Inspection Scheme.
- Fire Prevention on Construction Sites.
- Fire protection engineering.
- Fire resistance.
- Firefighting route.
- Inner room.
- Joint fire code.
- Means of escape.
- Protected escape route.
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- Visual alarm devices - their effectiveness in warning of fire.
- Vomitory.
Featured articles
Check out some of the best features and news from Designing Buildings as well as key stories from around the web.
Construction Management, 8 July
NEETs crisis drives interest in trades, but apprenticeships barriers remain.
Passive fire protection webinar
MEP services penetration seals.
Where its at podcast (and video) - The role of the Architectural Technologist as an Expert Witness.
More than 200 remarkable buildings added to SAVE’s Buildings at Risk register.
Government scraps pre-application consultation for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.
Historic England and infrastructure
New projects offer opportunities for the historic environment and local communities.
Construction Management, 2 July
Construction deaths halve in two years.
Green Book changes to drive investment in all parts of UK.
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES)
CIAT briefing on response to consultations for privately rented non-domestic properties.
Connect, collaborate, shape the future
Registration now live for UK Construction Week Birmingham.
CIOB announces Saul Humphrey FCIOB as new President for 26/27 term.
A quick, simple, and zero-bills solution to prevent overheating.

















