Use of Corridors and Equipment Rooms for Storage

Scope

This policy applies to all university property.

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Policy Statement

1. Building users must not place or store materials and equipment in a building hallway/corridor or a stairway that impede emergency evacuation, contribute to or cause hazards, or impede the ingress of emergency personnel or access to building equipment.
   • The generally accepted minimum unobstructed hallway/corridor width of 44 inches (IFC 1005.1) shall apply to most university buildings; however, in buildings containing large lecture halls, classrooms, recreational and assembly areas or large buildings with increased occupant loads, an evaluation by INLOCC will be conducted to determine the minimum required clear exit width.
   • A minimum 36 inch (IFC 1017.5) clearance width shall be maintained in service aisle ways.
   • Many buildings contain hallways/corridors that are wider than the minimum required clear exit width. In certain situations, and with INLOCC approval, it may be possible to utilize space in hallways/corridors for other purposes in addition to occupant movement.
2. Building users must not place flammable materials within twenty-five feet of any source of combustion, including moving machinery, in any mechanical room.
3. Building users must not place any materials such that access to equipment is impeded.
4. Storage in and use of building hallways/corridors, stairways, and equipment rooms must be in accordance with the following:
   • OSHA 29 CFR 1910 General Industry Regulations Subpart E "Means of Egress"
   • Indiana Fire Code IFC 315.3.2 “Means of Egress”: Combustible materials can not be stored in exits or enclosures for stairways and ramps.
     Indiana Fire Code 1030.2 “Reliability”: Required exit accesses, exits, and exit discharges must be continuously maintained free from obstructions or impediments to full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency when the building area served by the means of egress is occupied. An exit or exit passageway must not be used for any purpose that interferes with a means of egress.
   • Indiana Fire Code IFC 315.3 “Storage in Buildings”: Storage of materials in buildings shall be orderly and stacks shall be stable. Storage of combustible materials shall be separated from heaters or heating devices by distance or shielding so that ignition cannot occur.
5. The information will be forwarded to the proper personnel for further response. (See violation and approved tags.)
6. Permission to store materials will be in accordance with the Table of Common Items Permitted and Prohibited in Building Corridors.
7. More detailed procedures may be found here.
8. Items stored in violation of this policy will be tagged. If the owner can be identified, the owner will be notified. Otherwise, the building manager or unit head will be notified. Items will be removed at the discretion of the inspectors (INLOCC or EHSM): immediately if circumstances so dictate, but in no more than 30 days. There is no guarantee that removed items will be stored for recovery by the owner. Repeated violations will be reported to the dean or vice president supervising the area. 
9. The owner of removed equipment will be charged the cost of removal.

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Reason for Policy

Maintaining clear hallways/corridors, stairways, and paths of egress travel is fundamental to life safety. Egress corridors are intended by the Indiana Fire Code to be separate and distinct from occupied work areas to protect the occupants' path to the building exterior and to keep known hazards typically found in workspaces and their consequent dangers from endangering larger numbers of occupants evacuating the area.

Failure to meet the standards set by OHSA and the Indiana Fire Code (IFC) results in unacceptable hazards for individuals during emergency egress and to emergency personnel during emergency ingress.

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Definitions

Building Corridor/Hallway: Any passageway connecting individual rooms and spaces that lead to an exit door, stairwell, or other place of refuge used by individuals evacuating the area and emergency personnel arriving to the area.

Equipment: Anything that occupies a permanent footprint on the floor and requires electrical power to operate (e.g., copy machine, vending machine).

Material: An item such as a file cabinet, furnishing, trash/recycling container, construction material.

Mechanical Room:  Machine rooms, boiler rooms, electrical vaults, electrical closets, air-handler rooms, and the like.

Service Aisle Way: An aisle way designed and dedicated for the placement of equipment and supplies to support building operations. Service aisle ways are physically separated from public corridors and not designed for public use or egress routes.

Stairway: One or more flights of stairs, either exterior or interior, that serves as the primary vertical means of egress for individuals evacuating the area and emergency personnel arriving to the area.

University Property: Buildings, grounds, and land that are owned by Indiana University or controlled by Indiana University via leases or other formal contractual arrangements to house ongoing IU operations.

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History

This policy was adopted on July 30, 2015, and updated on December 10, 2021.

A substantive review of the policy was conducted by the Office of Insurance, Loss Control & Claims in May 2023 with no revisions made to the policy.

In July 2024, references to the renamed IU Indianapolis campus were updated in this policy.

This policy was reviewed and updated on June 2026.

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