Section 7.2.1/Door Assemblies
NFPA 101 Section 7.2.1 covers egress door requirements including minimum width, swing direction, hardware, and fire rating.
Door assemblies in the means of egress must provide a minimum clear width of 32 inches when the door is open 90 degrees. Doors must swing in the direction of egress travel when serving an occupant load of 50 or more. Exit doors must be openable from the egress side with a single motion and without special knowledge or tools. Panic hardware is required on doors serving assembly and educational occupancies with 100 or more occupants.
Why this section exists
Doors are the most critical bottleneck in any egress path. During a fire, doors must open quickly and reliably under stress conditions where occupants may be unfamiliar with the building, visibility may be limited by smoke, and crowd pressure may be pushing against the door. Every requirement in 7.2.1 addresses a documented failure mode in fire evacuations.
What plan reviewers look for
Plan reviewers check egress door widths, swing direction relative to occupant load, hardware specifications, and fire ratings on the door schedule. They verify that no locks or latches on the egress side require keys, special knowledge, or more than one releasing motion. They also check that doors in fire-rated assemblies have matching fire ratings.
Common violations
Related NFPA 101 requirements
Section 7.1.10 covers means of egress reliability requirements. Section 7.2.2 covers stairway requirements. Section 7.3.1 covers exit capacity. Section 7.10 covers exit marking and signage.