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THe only thing that concerns me about Ikea is if ther were ever a fire inside, no easy exits, and it seems like the middle of teh store would be a fireball with the layout. It would be interesting to hear from a fireman.
THe only thing that concerns me about Ikea is if ther were ever a fire inside, no easy exits, and it seems like the middle of teh store would be a fireball with the layout. It would be interesting to hear from a fireman.
While it may not appear to you that there are easy exits, ALL commercial buildings that are built have to meet certain requirements for emergency egress that include maximum distances to different emergency exits. These emergency egress paths and their associated exits (doors, windows, etc.) are reviewed by a fire marshal before the construction drawings are approved to make sure they comply with the associated local Building Code. Usually, a code official will then do a walk-thru before occupancy to make sure that the egress paths and exits were installed according do the drawings, that the doors are operable, and that the emergency exits are clearly marked.
Perhaps it is possible that it is a marking issue at the IKEA near you? I know the one I go to has several emergency exits, and even has cut-thrus if you really don't want to have to follow the whole maze and know right where you are going.
While it may not appear to you that there are easy exits, ALL commercial buildings that are built have to meet certain requirements for emergency egress that include maximum distances to different emergency exits. These emergency egress paths and their associated exits (doors, windows, etc.) are reviewed by a fire marshal before the construction drawings are approved to make sure they comply with the associated local Building Code. Usually, a code official will then do a walk-thru before occupancy to make sure that the egress paths and exits were installed according do the drawings, that the doors are operable, and that the emergency exits are clearly marked.
Perhaps it is possible that it is a marking issue at the IKEA near you? I know the one I go to has several emergency exits, and even has cut-thrus if you really don't want to have to follow the whole maze and know right where you are going.
You're talking about requirements of an empty building. Once IKEA puts all their "stuff" in it, it's a maze, for sure. I actually did have a hard time getting my bearings straight at the Charlotte, NC store several times while inside. I'm sure I could have gotten out if there was an emergency, but that's not the point.
You're talking about requirements of an empty building. Once IKEA puts all their "stuff" in it, it's a maze, for sure. I actually did have a hard time getting my bearings straight at the Charlotte, NC store several times while inside. I'm sure I could have gotten out if there was an emergency, but that's not the point.
While I am not 100% sure where they draw the line (I do mechanical systems so I am not in charge of designing the layout and designating egress paths, but I have been in countless code-review meetings where the other disciplines were discussed including emergency egress), I do know that the fire marshals I have seen don't just take the empty building into consideration if internal walls are planned.
In my experience, architects that are presenting the egress paths to the code officials have always been ask to show temporary walls up (like cube walls, de-mountable partitions, etc.) and those were included when considering the total path length to an emergency exit. Furniture was not, but internal temporary walls were.
However, I still cannot say for sure that this is the case with a large store like IKEA or that it is the case in every municipality. Maybe my local officials are stricter than most. Also, if IKEA ends up moving the walls around (like they recently did in Charlotte), I doubt they go back to get fire marshal approval so who knows.
I'm sure that IKEA follows local safety codes for things like having fire extinguishers, certain width of main thoroughfares, fire sprinklers, lighting, safety exits and things of those nature. Fire marshalls/inspectors most likely visit them on a regular basis just like any other business. It's just that there's just so much stuff that they put everywhere in a very large building and it's easy to get lost in the sea of furniture! A child could easily get lost in one of these stores.
It's not even the exits I was worried about, it seems like the middle of the store where the big circular hole is, would be some sort of fire accelerator, but again, I'm not a fireman, would be interested to hear from one.
It's not even the exits I was worried about, it seems like the middle of the store where the big circular hole is, would be some sort of fire accelerator, but again, I'm not a fireman, would be interested to hear from one.
You're talking about the Schaumburg Ikea, which is a very different floorplan than most Ikea stores. It is a three level store with a circular floor plan arranged around a 3 story atrium, while most Ikea stores I've been to (12 different stores) are single story mazes. You're thinking a fire would take in a bunch of oxygen in the atrium and create a fireball or make the fire spread rapidly? I'm not sure if that would happen, but is it is one of the least confusing Ikea store layouts as it is very easy to get back to a central point and there are a ton of emergency exits (I've taken note when shopping there before).
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