Necessary stairs
In Germany, a staircase is called a necessary staircase , which must be available according to building regulations. Every floor that is not on the ground floor and the usable roof space of a building must be accessible via at least one staircase (the necessary staircase ). Minimum requirements are placed on these stairs to ensure that they can be used safely - for example in the event of a fire. In addition, there may be other ( unnecessary ) stairs , which are then subject to less stringent requirements.
In Germany, building regulations are the legislative competence of the federal states. All countries have accordingly issued their own building regulations , but their regulations on escape routes and stairs are similar and are based on the model building regulations (MBO). The current version is from 2002.
Section 34 Stairs
- (1) Every storey that is not on the ground floor and the usable roof space of a building must be accessible via at least one staircase (necessary staircase). Ramps with a flat incline are permitted instead of the necessary stairs.
- (2) Retractable stairs and escalators are not permitted as necessary stairs. [...]
- (3) Necessary stairs are to be led to all connected floors in one go; they must be directly connected to the stairs to the attic. [...]
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- (5) The usable width of the flights of stairs and landings of the necessary stairs must be sufficient for the greatest traffic to be expected.
- (6) Stairs must have a firm and safe handrail. [...]
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§ 35 Necessary stairwells, exits
- (1) Every staircase required must be in its own, continuous stairwell to secure the escape routes from the floors to the outside (necessary stairwell). [...]
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- (3) Every necessary stairwell must be on an outside wall and have a direct exit to the outside. [...]
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- (7) Necessary stairwells must be illuminated. [...]
- (8) It must be possible to ventilate necessary stairwells. On every floor above ground, they must have windows that lead directly to the outside and have a free cross-section of at least 0.50 m 2 that can be opened. [...]