Fire escape stairs. Exterior egress retrofit, attached and stamped.
When an older Ontario building doesn't have enough interior egress for its current occupant load, the fix is usually an exterior stair attached to the existing wall. We design the stair, the connection back into the building, and the anchor pattern — all on a stamped drawing that an inspector can trace top-to-bottom.
The exterior answer when interior egress runs out.
Most fire escape work we do is on industrial or commercial buildings that were code-compliant when built but have outgrown that compliance — usually because of a tenant fit-up, a higher-occupancy use, or a change-of-use review that re-classified the space. Adding interior egress is often impossible without gutting the building. An exterior stair, attached to the wall and dropped to grade, is the practical fix.
Configurations
- Exterior switchback against the wall — stacked flights with intermediate landings. Most common retrofit; minimal site footprint.
- Free-standing exterior tower — for tall buildings where wall attachment isn't structurally feasible.
- Drop-down lower flight — bottom flight counter-balanced to stay clear of grade until activated, where street-level access has to remain open.
- Through-wall doorway tie-in — coordinated with a fire-rated door spec from your architect; stair lands at a code-compliant exit.
Anchors and the existing structure
The stair is the simple part. The connection back into the existing building is where retrofit fire escapes typically fail review. We do an on-site verification of the wall composition — masonry coursing, concrete edge condition, or existing steel framing — and design the anchor pattern as part of the stamp. Anchor counts and sizes go on the drawing alongside the stair geometry, so the inspector sees one document, not two.
Finish
Default finish for exterior fire escapes is hot-dip galvanized to CSA G164. Where the architectural review wants colour, we add a powder-coat or two-coat industrial system over the galv — never replacing it. Shop primer alone is not weather-grade for an exterior egress stair in Ontario; a mid-life repaint is not an acceptable plan for code compliance.
Typical parameters
- Clear width1100 mm typical (occupant-load driven)
- Configurationswitchback, straight-run, or tower
- Guard height42" (OBC §3.3.1.18)
- Treadbar-grate (snow / water shed) or grip-strut
- Finishhot-dip galvanized, CSA G164
- Anchorsengineered to wall composition
- Service life40 – 50 years galv typical for inland Ontario (ISO 9223 C2 exposure)
- Lead time4 – 7 weeks from sign-off
- All steel stairs & industrial stair systems
- Egress staircases — interior code-required exit stairs
- Outdoor steel stairs — exterior access (non-egress)