Cook County Building Code Chapter 32 incorporates International Fire Code Section 1010 governing means-of-egress door hardware: panic bars in assembly and high-occupancy uses, single-action unlatching, and limits on deadbolts, chains, and electromagnetic locks.
IFC 1010, adopted via Cook County Code Chapter 32, requires every required egress door to open from the interior with a single motion, without keys, special knowledge, or tools. Panic and fire-exit hardware is mandatory in Group A, E, H, and I occupancies serving more than 50 occupants and high-hazard rooms. Electromagnetic and delayed-egress locks are allowed only with fire-alarm release, manual release, and posted signage. Schools and daycares face heightened classroom-barricade rules following Illinois state guidance. Existing locks installed before adoption may be grandfathered until renovation, change of occupancy, or fire marshal-ordered correction.
Installing unauthorized deadbolts, chains, or barricade devices on required exit doors triggers fire-marshal correction notices, building-code citations, and stop-use orders for assembly spaces until hardware is replaced.
See how Arlington Heights's door locking hardware rules stack up against other locations.
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