3 doors, location for manual staions.

I know the code says 5ft from the exit door to locate manual stations.
And I know a little further in the code that 2 pull stations are required at the “openings” above 40ft wide.
My problem is the conflicting code. I have 3 doors in a vestibule, with full height windows on either side of the 3 doors. If I only place one manual station on either side, the 5 foot rule misses at least one of the exit doors depending the side I place the manual station. However I’m covered on rule 1 being 5ft away from “all” exit doors if I place a manual station on both sides. Please advise, and thanks for any and all future direction on this matter.

Without any further information (such as the width of the doors and windows) you’ve pretty much answered your own question. It may help too if you could post a photo of the opening or sketch a drawing. It’s not unusual to see two pull stations at an exit door - one on either side of the door - for exits that are really wide. If the code is conflicting, always go with the one that is most stringent. If all else fails, reach out the your AHJ.

Here is what I’m working with. I was intending to place a manual pull station on both walls in the vestibule.

well that’s a bummer, i attached, but it won’t attach.

Unfortunately, the photo attachments feature on the forums is currently not working. Here is a guide to posting images in lieu of this issue: <URL url="https://forums.thefirepanel.com/t/correctly-posting-images-to-tfp-attachments-workaround/2255/1 text=“viewtopic.php?f=63&t=7785”>https://forums.thefirepanel.com/t/correctly-posting-images-to-tfp-attachments-workaround/2255/1

Alternatively, if you email me your photos, I can post them from my end. Send me a forum PM if you’d like to go that route.

Thank you for your patience, and welcome to the forums!

north south

I think something is wrong with the link because nothing comes up.

Vestibule dimensions:

  • south to north
    one wall, length is inconsequential
  • east to west
    one full window 34", 1 door 42", 1 double door 84", 1 full window 34"
  • north to south
    one wall, length is inconsequential

Intend to put a pull station within 5 ft of 1st door on wall south to north, and one pull station within 5 ft of double doors on north to south wall.

Or can I get away with 1 pull station on one of the walls to appease the 40ft rule, which I think violates the 5ft rule.

funny, soon after i find the time to type up the dimensions, the pictures i uploaded magically appears.

Okay, this is helpful. Let’s examine the two codes you are referencing…

“17.14.8.4 - Manual fire alarm boxes shall be located within 5ft of each exit doorway on each floor”

I believe the intent of this code is simply because they had to come up with a number! If you think about it, 5 feet pretty much puts you in arms reach to the pull station from the door. They also say “exit doorway” - in your case, I would say the three doors together constitute the “exit doorway” as a whole. If you place a pull station on either side wall, you would be within 5 feet of the exit doorway. So this brings us to your second code reference:

“17.14.8.6 - Manual fire alarm boxes shall be mounted on both sides of grouped openings over 40ft in width, and within 5ft of each side of the grouped opening.”

Again, they had to come up with a number - and I guess 40 feet sounded good! Not sure how they came up with the 40 foot rule but I’m sure it has to do with line of sight and being able to see the pull station if you were 39 feet away. Your exit doorway is 128.5 inches wide. That number is based upon a calculation of what they expect the occupancy load of the building. They don’t make 5 1/2 ’ wide doors so they decided to use three, 3’ wide doors in that opening. The vestibule in your drawing is, at best, 16 feet wide. So if you were standing on the left side and the pull station was on the right side, it would only be less than 16 feet away and well within sight.

So what does this have to say about your situation? In my opinion, one pull station should suffice. Your opening is no where near 40 feet wide, the vestibule appear to be about 200 square feet (just a guess based on scale), and the doors are grouped tight together. Someone walking into the vestibule to activate the pull station should have no problem finding it. But this is just my opinion. The AHJ might look at it and decide they want one installed on either side! About the best you could do is decide how difficult it would be to install that second pull station after the fact and whether or not it’s cost prohibitive to do it before or after the system commissioning.

awesome. Best answer: “I would say the three doors together constitute the “exit doorway” as a whole”.

Thanks. That’s the reasoning i needed for confirmation for one pull station.