Fire authorities concerned as North American cities consider single egress stair cases in 6 storey buildings

 "... while this is in fact a technical fire safety issue, the conversation on single egress has become a subject of media commentary and politicized".  

- Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, 2024

Plans to allow single stair cases in apartment buildings up top six storeys are concerning fire authorities in North America. The change is fuelled by a desire to address the growing need for more affordable housing, particularly on the rental market. 

The Los Angeles City Council has reportedly approved a controversial plan to revise the building code, allowing single-staircase designs in apartment buildings up to six stories.  

The proposal seeks to eliminate existing mandates for two stairwells and dual-loaded corridors in multifamily buildings ranging from four to six stories, aiming to simplify design requirements and potentially create more affordable housing options. This significant shift has sparked discussion on balancing safety concerns with the flexibility to address the city’s housing challenges, according to a March 14, 2025 article on GlobeStreet.com. 

This change aims to address a critical gap in the city's housing options. City agencies have 90 days to present the proposed code updates, according to a recent article on Fire Engineering .com. 

This proposal is said to be a part of a broader trend as cities across the U.S. and Canada to address the affordable housing crisis by reconsidering building codes. While cities like New York and Seattle already to some degree allow single-staircase designs for buildings taller than three stories, cities like San Francisco and San Diego are reportedly exploring similar updates. 

A 2024 consultation with fire safety experts has started on single egress construction across Canada leading several provincial governments to already explore the idea. 

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons License. 

Centretown is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward, in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The photo is generic and does not necessarily refer to buildings affected by the building code change discussed in this article. 

By Matti Blume - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67973462

Fire officials across North America critical and deeply concern ed for residents safety

Critics, including fire officials, warn that fewer stairwells could endanger residents and responders during emergencies, especially in taller buildings. 

NFPA guidelines limit single-stair designs to four stories, and the International Building Code restricts them to three. 

Jon Hart of the NFPA voiced concern about expanding this to six stories without thorough local analysis.

The  Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs have expressed deep concerns for similar moves towards single egress buildings in Vancouver, BC and other Canadian cities where there is a strong need to create more rental suites.

In 2024, the Canadian Federal Budget committed to a consultation with fire safety experts on single egress construction. The Consultation is being led by theCanadian  National Research Council.

"In the meantime, some provincial and local governments have already started exploring the inclusion of single egress constructions in their own building codes", the CAFC writes on the home page.

The CAFC adds: "... while this is in fact a technical fire safety issue, the conversation on single egress has become a subject of media commentary and politicized".  

CBC News wrote already in August 31, 2024 about the Fire Brigade concerns. According to their article, the B.C. government announced changes to the province's building code that will allow buildings up to six storeys to have one exit stairwell instead of two. 

Larry Thomas, Fire Chief of Surrey, called the process "rushed" and needing more time, as a normal code process takes two or three years. 

"Tactically, we operate in ways that limit people's movement to egress the building," Jason Cairney, second vice-president of the Fire Chiefs' Association of B.C., said to the CBC.  

"And from the fire perspective, we're using up a significant portion of that stairwell and potentially even introducing smoke into that stairwell while we're combating fire."

The Daily Hive wrote in February 2025 that the Government of British Columbia recently approved and enacted changes to the BC Building Code to enable only single staircase for new small multi-unit residential buildings. 

According to the article, Vancouver City staff are strongly opposing the change, mostly due to safety concerns.

The NFPA released a report on single exit stair apartment buildings in November 2024, when the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) held their  “One Stair, Two Perspectives: Single Exit Stair Symposium".  

The report summarizes key discussions and findings from a recent symposium addressing concerning efforts by legislative bodies in the U.S. and Canada to increase the allowable height of single exit stair apartment buildings from three or four stories to six.

The NFPA Journal also wrote an debate article on August 6, 2024:  Single Stair, Many Questions, and called it a "tangled intersection between safety, housing affordability, building codes, and politics".

According to the article, in the United States, most jurisdictions restrict single exit stairwell buildings to lower heights, with NFPA 101® allowing up to four stories and the International Building Code limiting them to three.  

In contrast, the article argues; many regions worldwide, including Europe, South America, and Asia, permit single stairwells in taller buildings, ranging from six stories to as high as 20 stories in countries like South Korea, Germany, and Switzerland. 

Cities like New York, Honolulu, and Seattle are exceptions in the U.S., with less restrictive codes.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons License. 

Centretown is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward, in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The photo is generic and does not necessarily refer to buildings affected by the building code change discussed in this article. 

By Matti Blume - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67973462