A means of egress on the same floor.
IBC 2015 Section 1025.1 Horizontal exits.
A horizontal exit may be an element of a means of egress when in compliance with the requirements of Section 1025.1. The actual horizontal exit is the protected door opening in a wall, open-air balcony or bridge that separates two areas of a building. A horizontal exit is often used in hospitals and in prisons where it is not feasible or desirable that all occupants exit the facility (see Section 1002.1 for the definition of a “Horizontal exit”).
Horizontal exits and their associated “refuge areas” are considered to provide the same or higher level of protection as an “area of refuge” for people who cannot use the egress system. Sections 1007.3 and 1007.4 allow for a horizontal exit or an area of refuge as alternatives. See these sections for exceptions for buildings with sprinkler systems and/or where the path of travel has protection from the accumulation of smoke (i.e., open parking garages, open air assembly seating, smoke-protected assembly seating).
A horizontal exit shall not serve as the only exit from a portion of a building, and where two or more exits are required, not more than one-half of the total number of exits or total exit width shall be horizontal exits.
Exceptions:
1. Horizontal exits are permitted to comprise two-thirds of the required exits from any building or floor area for occupancies in Group I-2.
2. Horizontal exits are permitted to comprise 100 percent of the exits required for occupancies in Group I-3. At least 6 square feet (0.6 m2) of accessible space per occupant shall be provided on each side of the horizontal exit for the total number of people in adjoining compartments.
