§ 144 — Egress from dwellings

§ 144. Egress from dwellings. 1. A dwelling three or more stories in\nheight shall have at least two means of egress extending to the roof\nfrom an entrance story, street, court or yard. The entrances to such\nmeans of egress at every story shall be at least fifteen feet distant\nfrom each other unless they are on opposite sides of a public hall. One\nmeans of egress shall be a stair constructed as provided in section one\nhundred forty-eight. The other means of egress shall be either another\nsuch stair or a fire-escape constructed as provided in section\nfifty-three.\n 2. If the number of living rooms on any story, or in any section of\nany story, above the entrance story exceeds twenty, there shall be an\nadditional stair, or fire-stair, extending from the entrance story to\nthe roof for each twenty rooms or fraction thereof on such story or\nsection thereof in excess of twenty, except that no additional stair, or\nfire-stair, shall be required for such excess on any story or section\nthereof if the number of living rooms thereon does not exceed thirty and\nif in addition one stair serving such story or section and every\nentrance hall or other public hall connected therewith are everywhere\nfour feet six inchs or more in clear width.\n 3. There shall be accessible from every apartment two means of egress\nfrom the dwelling, one of which shall be a stair within fifty feet from\na means of egress from such apartment. For such dwellings erected under\nplans filed in the department after September first, nineteen hundred\nfifty-one, such stair shall also be enclosed and comply with the\nprovisions of section one hundred forty-eight.\n 4. Whenever more than two stairs are required, one or more of such\nstairs may be fire-stairs or fire-towers, provided that there shall\nnever be more than one such fire-stair or fire-tower for each two other\nrequired stairs.\n