In a recent Q&A on the FacilityCare website, consultant Brad Keyes answered a question about deadbolt locks on office doors.

Q: Does section 7.2.1.5.4 of the 2000 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC), which prohibits more than one releasing action to operate a door, apply to office doors within a healthcare occupancy? For example, our nurse manager’s office opens to the corridor and she wants to place a deadbolt lock on the door. Does the addition of a deadbolt lock create a violation? Does egress from a single office require the same “single motion” requirement as the remainder of the path of egress?

A: Yes, it does. As long as the door (no matter where the door is located) is in the path of egress, then it must comply with 7.2.1.5.4 and be operable with only one releasing motion. A door to an office qualifies as a door in the path of egress, because if you’re inside that office, the door is in your path to getting outdoors. Now, it is possible that if there were two entrances (doors) to the same office, you could designate one of the doors as being in the path of egress and the other door as not being in the path of egress.

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