Second exit from electric room

[Larry mcnitt]

Does one of the exits from an electric room with 2500 amp 480 volt gear have to be an outdoor exit?
Trying to move gear and reverse feed to make things easier for customer and us
The engineer is claiming that one door way has to have access to outside
I’ve done larger amperage gear and not have an outside doorway.
Definitely two doors out of room

 

[rc/retired]

Nothing in the NEC requires egress to the exterior, that Ican find. Ask the engineer for a reference.

Ron

 

[jim dungar]

Remember to check local building and fire codes

 

[charlie b]

The engineer is claiming that one door way has to have access to outside

Not true

 

[garbo]

I worked in large buildings that had 13.2 service & switchgear three & four floors below ground level. The one that was four floors below the street was 70' below the ground. Even the below ground boiler room that feed steam to a second 12 story building did not have an exit leading to outdoors. We were more concerned about having the service located 70' below ground being flooded rather then having an outdoor exit. Building was close to a river.

 

[ron]

Not only does the 2nd exit not need to go to the exterior, but in many cases, you don't need a 2nd exit from the room. The code requires egress from the working space for "large equipment", not necessarily from the room.

 

[charlie b]

The code requires egress from the working space for "large equipment", not necessarily from the room.

I agree, and this is something that is often overlooked. If the sparks start flying and if the worker can get far enough away, they can safely stay in the room until rescue assistance arrives. I once had a design that had a second exit from the room, with that exit leading into a room that had no other way out. The intent is to keep the worker alive and unharmed, not to enable them to go home.