2006 New York Code - Fire-escapes.

 
    §  133. Fire-escapes. 1. Every fire-escape shall be located, arranged,
  constructed and maintained in accordance with the following provisions:
    a. Each fire-escape shall be accessible to one or more exterior  doors
  or windows opening from the room, apartment or suite, and such window or
  door shall be two feet or more in clear width and two feet six inches or
  more  in clear height. The sill of any such window shall be within three
  feet of the floor.
    b. Access to any fire-escape shall not be through any  public  toilet,
  or  be  obstructed by any bathroom fixture, kitchen fixture, sink, or in
  any other way. Bars, grilles, gates or other obstructing devices on  any
  window  or  door  giving access to any fire-escape shall be unlawful.  A
  required fire-escape shall never include a window of  a  stair  hall  or
  public stairs.
    c.  Every  fire-escape  shall  be  constructed  of  open balconies and
  stairways of incombustible material and designed to support a  uniformly
  distributed live load of at least eighty pounds per square foot. The use
  of cast iron in the construction of fire-escapes shall be unlawful.
    d.  No  fire-escape shall be removed from or erected upon any multiple
  dwelling without a permit from the department. No fire-escape  shall  be
  removed  or  replaced unless a secondary means of egress is available or
  provided in lieu thereof.
    2. a. Every balcony for a fire-escape shall be three feet or  more  in
  clear width.
    b.  Every  lowest  balcony  more  than  five feet above a safe landing
  beneath shall have  a  drop  ladder  fifteen  inches  in  width  and  of
  sufficient  length to reach such landing. Such ladder shall be held in a
  proper position at all  times,  and,  unless  properly  counterbalanced,
  shall  be  placed in guides so that it can be lowered easily. The lowest
  balcony shall not be more than fourteen feet above the  ground  or  safe
  landing place beneath.
    c. Every stairway shall be placed at an angle of sixty degrees or less
  with  steps at least six inches in width and twenty inches in length and
  with a maximum rise of nine inches. The opening in any balcony for  such
  a stairway shall be at least twenty-one by twenty-eight inches.
    d. A stairway shall be provided from every balcony on the top story to
  the  roof  of a multiple dwelling three or more stories in height except
  where the roof is sloped or pitched in excess of fifteen degrees.