Manchester, CT Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Code of Ordinances § 242-41D states: "All means of egress doors shall be readily openable from the side from which egress is to be made without the need for keys, special knowledge or effort," with a narrow exception in § 242-41D(1) allowing locks or fasteners on egress doors only "in accordance with the building code" referenced in the chapter's Article VIII list of standards, which includes the Connecticut State Building Code. This sits within Article VII, Fire Safety Requirements, whose scope section § 242-40 puts the duty to provide and maintain compliant egress facilities on the owner of the premises, and bars anyone from occupying or permitting occupancy of premises that fail to comply.

The same article extends the anti-lockout principle to windows used for emergency escape: § 242-41E(3) requires that bars, grilles or screens over an emergency escape window be "releasable or removable from the inside without the use of a key, tool or force greater than that which is required for normal operation of the window." Section 242-41B further bars exit arrangements that route occupants through another dwelling unit, toilet room or bathroom, and § 242-41C sets stairway and guard dimensions for any flight of four or more risers.

Together these sections form Manchester's local means-of-egress standard, distinct from and enforced alongside the state Fire Safety Code and State Building Code referenced in § 242-44.