Emergency Egress
For buildings in Edmonton or Alberta, of 3 stores or less and except where a bedroom door provides access directly to the exterior or the suite is sprinkled, each bedroom shall have at least one outside egress window which may be opened from the inside without the use of tools or special knowledge.
Windows referred to above shall provide unobstructed openings with areas not less than 0.35 m (3.77 Sq/ft) with no dimension less than 380 mm (15 in.). If the window referred above is provided with security bars, the security bars shall be installed so they may be opened from the inside without the use of any tools or special knowledge.
People often confuse the size of the window with the size of the opening. The only measurement that inspectors care about is the size of the actual opening you can crawl out of. This is what makes a window meet egress. Not the size of the window itself, but how much open space you have when the window is open.
WE MAKE CUT OUT TO DESIRED SIZE
FOR EGRESS CODE.
When Fires Occur
Although bedroom windows are not considered to be ordinary escape routes, using them in an emergency has saved many occupants. In a very short time, and in as little as three minutes, a small fire in a room can build up and create conditions so hot that everything will suddenly burst into flames (flashover).
Create clouds of thick, black smoke that hang from the ceiling. Cause temperatures to reach 300°C (572°F) – hot enough to melt clothes to skin and scorch lungs. Create toxic gases like carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and other irritants that affect eyes, nose, throat and lungs, numbing the senses. Therefore, it is important to have a simple plan of exiting a building when there is little or NO TIME, conditions are DARK, the room is HOT, and the environment is DEADLY.
Sunview Windows and Doors is experienced with egress codes in Edmonton and all over Alberta. If you have old basement windows that don't pass egress requirements, we will have a solution for you. Sunview even has a style of egress windows that are manufactured in Europe. These egress windows require a smaller rough opening which means you may be able to avoid costly concrete cuts and window wells, especially in the basement since windows are almost always in the foundation.