single-stair

For their part, critics like Rogers and Grove allow that if the single-stair idea seems to work in Seattle or New York City, it’s not outlandish to imagine it being possible in other major cities with a shortage of building space and robust, well-funded fire departments. But codifying an allowance for a single exit stair in a six-story building is a bridge too far, they say.

Single Stair, Many Questions 2025

Most American apartment buildings over four stories are required to include two means of egress from every apartment. In Canada, the height limit of a single-stair building is just two stories. The purported reason for such rules is fire safety, though there’s no evidence that Americans and Canadians are any safer from structure fires than our neighbors around the world, where one-staircase construction is permitted even in buildings eight, 10, or 20 stories high.

A Surprising Theory of What’s Wrong With American Apartment Buildings Henry Grabar 2021

Almost every country in Western Europe—where single-stair apartment buildings can rise many times the IBC’s three-story height limit—has fewer fire deaths per capita than the US. New York City, which allows single-stair buildings up to six stories (and has many apartment buildings where the second exit is a flimsy fire escape that does not meet modern code requirements), has slightly fewer deaths per capita than the rest of the US.

The Case for Single-Stair Multifamily Brad Hargreaves 2024