Fairfax County enforces Virginia USBC and Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code rules on means-of-egress door hardware, requiring single-action unlocking from the egress side and prohibiting multiple operations or special knowledge to exit.
Under Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code Chapter 10 and the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, exit doors in occupied buildings must unlock with a single motion from the egress side without requiring keys, special knowledge, or simultaneous operations. Panic hardware is required on doors serving assembly occupancies of fifty or more, including Tysons restaurants and Reston event spaces. Schools follow specific lockdown-compatible hardware rules under Virginia Department of Education guidance. Fairfax County Fire Marshal inspectors cite chained, padlocked, or deadbolted egress doors as immediate fire hazards. Residential single-family deadbolts are generally permitted as primary lock.
Locked or chained egress: immediate citation, civil penalties under Fire Prevention Code, possible criminal charges if injury results from blocked egress.
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See how Fairfax County's door locking hardware rules stack up against other locations.
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