Header:
TEXAS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
TITLE 40. SOCIAL SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE
PART 1. DEPARTMENT OF AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES
CHAPTER 19. NURSING FACILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE AND MEDICAID CERTIFICATION
SUBCHAPTER D. FACILITY CONSTRUCTION
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
40 TAC § 19.335 (2011)
§ 19.335. Exit Provisions
Exit provisions, including doors, corridors, stairways, and other exitways, locks, and other applicable items must conform to the requirements of the Life Safety Code concerning means of egress and of this section in order to assure that residents can be rapidly and easily evacuated from the building at all times, or from one part of the building to a safe area of refuge in another part of the building. Exit provisions are as follows:
(1) Bedroom space arrangement and doors and corridors must be designed for evacuation of bedfast residents by means of rolling the bed to a safe place in the building or to the outside.
(2) Public assembly, common living rooms, dining rooms, and other rooms with a capacity of 50 or more persons or greater than 1,000 square feet must have two means of exit remote from each other. Outswinging doors with panic hardware must be provided for these exits.
(3) Exit doors and ways of egress must be maintained clear and free for use at all times. Furnishings, equipment, carts, and other obstacles must not be left to block egress at any time.
(4) Steps in interior ways of egress are prohibited. If changes of elevation are necessary within ways of egress, approved ramps with maximum slope of 1:12 (one unit of rise to 12 units of run) must be used.
(5) Any remodeling of, construction on, and/or additions to occupied buildings which involve exitways and exit doors must be accomplished without compromising the exits or creating a dead end situation at any time. Acceptable alternate temporary exits may be approved, or resident(s) in the area involved may have to be relocated until construction blocking the exit is completed. Other basic safety features such as fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and emergency power must also remain operational.
(6) Doors in means of egress must be as follows:
(A) Locking hardware or devices which are capable of preventing or inhibiting immediate egress must not be used in any room or area that can be occupied.
(B) A latch or other fastening device on an exit door must be provided with a knob, handle, panic bar, or similar releasing device. The method of operation must be obvious in the dark, without use of a key, and operable by a well known one-action operation that will easily operate with normal pressure applied to the door or to the device toward the exterior. Locking hardware which prevents unauthorized entry from the outside (only) is permissible. Permanently mounted hold-open devices to expedite emergency egress and prevent accidental lock-out must be provided for exterior exit doors as well as self-closing devices.
(C) No screen or storm door may swing against the direction of exit travel where main doors are required to swing out.
(D) To aid in control of wandering residents, buzzers or other sounding devices may be used to announce the unauthorized use of an exit door. Other methods include approved emergency exit door locks or fencing with a gate outside of exit doors which enclose a space large enough to allow the space to be an exterior area of egress and refuge away from the building.
(E) Inactive leaves of double doors may have easily accessible and easily operable bolts if the active leaf is 44 inches wide. Center mullions are prohibited.
(F) Resident baths or toilets having privacy locks will require that keys or devices for opening the doors are kept readily available to the staff.
(G) Folding or sliding doors must not be used in exit corridors or exitways. Sliding glass doors may be used as secondary doors from residents' bedrooms to grade or to a balcony, or as secondary doors in certain other areas where the primary designated exit door requirements are met. Doors to bathroom and other resident-use areas must be the side-hinged swinging type. Corridor doors to rooms must swing into the room or be recessed so as not to extend into the corridor when open; however, doors ordinarily kept closed may be excepted. Corridor door frames must be steel in accordance with the Life Safety Code.
(7) Horizontal exits, if provided, must be according to the Life Safety Code.
(8) Areas outside of exterior exit doors (exit discharge) must be as follows:
(A) Provision must be made to accommodate and facilitate continuation of emergency egress away from a building for a reasonable distance beyond the outside exit door, especially for movement of nonambulatory residents in wheelchairs and beds. Any condition which may retard or halt free movement and progress outside the exit doors will not be allowed. Ramps must be used outside the exit doors in lieu of steps whenever possible.
(B) The landing outside of each exit door must be essentially the same elevation as the interior floor and level for a distance equal to the door width plus at least four feet. Generally, the difference in floor elevation at an exterior door must not be over 1/2 inch with the outside slope not to exceed 1/4 inch per foot sloping away from the door for drainage on the exterior. In locations north of the +20 Fahrenheit Isothermal Line as defined in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Handbook of Fundamentals, the landing outside of all exit doors must be protected from ice build-up which would prohibit the door from opening and be a slip hazard.
(C) Emergency egress lighting immediately outside of exit doors is required as a part of the building emergency lighting system. Photocell devices may be used to turn lights off during daylight hours.
(9) The requirements of an emergency lighting system must be in accordance with § 19.341 of this title (relating to Electrical Requirements).
(10) Requirements for interior finishes of ways of egress (flame spread of floor, walls, and ceiling finishes) must be in accordance with the Life Safety Code. The interior finishes of other areas must be in accordance with § 19.333(e) of this title (relating to General Considerations).
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