# Curtains in Front of Fire exits?



## manuallyfocused (Dec 8, 2021)

Does anyone else have curtains that cover exit doors in their facility? How is this handled with your AHJ? This is our situation:

Our "theater" is a multi-purpose auditorium with three pairs of glass doors at the back of the house and windows all along one wall. As you can imagine, all the glass lets in lots of light (and the doors open out to an area with cars passing by, so at night we get lots of headlight drive-bys). Each of these doors is a clearly marked emergency exit, and each has a manual hand-operated curtain track between the door and the exit sign (such that the exit sign is visible when the curtains are closed). The doors and windows have had curtains since before our organization occupied the facility (at least 9 years ago) and we have replaced the curtains once during that time. In the last several years, our building manager has instructed our security team that the curtains must remain open at all times, but has a working arrangement with me that the curtains can be closed during productions and tech rehearsals. This doesn't always get communicated to the security team, so we occasionally have situations where a security guard is assigned to monitor the room during a production/event, and tries to open the curtains mid-show. It's uncomfortable and stressful for everyone.

Should I push for a clearer policy on the use of the curtains? Or should I push for the doors to be replaced with something that doesn't put us potentially out of compliance with our AHJ? Has anyone navigated this sort of issue successfully?

Thanks for any advice.


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## Crisp image (Dec 8, 2021)

Here is my take on things and remember I am in Australia and we most likely have different regs to you.
I would replace the curtains with a curtain that is fitted to the door and only covered the glass. At my work place we have roller blinds that are fitted to a track (also known as a cassette blind) so the door can be opened unimpeded in case of an emergency. The blind and door are essentially one item. This allows us to be compliant with the regulations for emergence exits.
I will say that our doors are on electronic locking so in the event of a fire the doors all become unlocked and it is just a matter of pushing the door open.
Regards
Geoff


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## DaveySimps (Dec 8, 2021)

It sounds like the best solution is to replace the doors with something more appropriate. I cannot imagine an AHJ being OK with the curtains, regardless of your policies and procedures. Especially since you admit your staff has an issue with what is currently in place. I definitely think it would be time for a proactive conversation with your AHJ about it. 

~Dave


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## Van (Dec 8, 2021)

Regs vary from area to area. In Portland we are allowed to a soft covering such as curtains in front of a doorway BUT the exit must be clearly marked, per regs, on the audience side of the curtain. Want a curtain? ok as long as you hang a lit exit sign over the top of the pass-through. IF this is the acceptable regulation with your AHJ then I would say this issue lies with the BM properly instructing his staff to adhere to company policy.


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## Shawn Fidler (Dec 10, 2021)

Broadly speaking, if you are in a jurisdiction that has adopted the International Building Code (used as a model code for new construction in most jurisdictions in the US and Canada) and the International Fire Code (similar, used by fire officials, however a competing model code is used in quite a few), they forbid covering exit doors with drapes, mirrors or otherwise camouflaging them. This has been the case for at least the last 15 years that I've been aware of such things, but I suspect it goes back much further into the codes that predate IBC and IFC. Since I mostly work in a state that generally has pushier codes, I looked up Idaho, Texas, and Oregon; the same, unmodified language is in their building and fire codes as adopted at state level. 

The other fire code commonly used in the US is NFPA 101; I would have sworn that I'd been dinged a while back for this issue by a planchecker using NFPA 101, but I can't find it in the places I would expect it to be.

This is from the 2018 Idaho Fire Code 1010.1 (based on IFC), which governs doors that are part of a means of egress (i.e. an exit): Means of egress doors shall be readily distinguishable from the adjacent construction and finishes such that the doors are easily recognizable as doors. Mirrors or similar reflecting materials shall not be used on means of egress doors. Means of egress doors shall not be concealed by curtains, drapes, decorations or similar materials.


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## JonCarter (Dec 10, 2021)

Paint the glass black.


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## humhead (Dec 15, 2021)

manuallyfocused said:


> Does anyone else have curtains that cover exit doors in their facility? How is this handled with your AHJ? This is our situation:
> 
> Our "theater" is a multi-purpose auditorium with three pairs of glass doors at the back of the house and windows all along one wall. As you can imagine, all the glass lets in lots of light (and the doors open out to an area with cars passing by, so at night we get lots of headlight drive-bys). Each of these doors is a clearly marked emergency exit, and each has a manual hand-operated curtain track between the door and the exit sign (such that the exit sign is visible when the curtains are closed). The doors and windows have had curtains since before our organization occupied the facility (at least 9 years ago) and we have replaced the curtains once during that time. In the last several years, our building manager has instructed our security team that the curtains must remain open at all times, but has a working arrangement with me that the curtains can be closed during productions and tech rehearsals. This doesn't always get communicated to the security team, so we occasionally have situations where a security guard is assigned to monitor the room during a production/event, and tries to open the curtains mid-show. It's uncomfortable and stressful for everyone.
> 
> ...


Unsure of your window configuration but a cheaper solution could simply be to cover the windows themselves on the outside with vinyl. Similar to a window tinting but completely opaque. If the area is big enough it could even be advertisements for the current or up coming productions. It’s easy to apply and can be replaced as often as you like or stay forever but you’ll always be able to remove and have your glass windows when needed. Just a low tech solution that also brings some production value.


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