Unofficial mirror of portland.gov/ppd. Always verify with the official source. View original ↗

Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings

← Permitting & Development

Breadcrumb: Home > Permitting & Development > Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings

Source: Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings ↗ Last modified: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:35:33 GMT

Basements and every sleeping room must have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening.

Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency egress and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room.

  • Where emergency escape and rescue openings are provided they shall have a clear opening of not more than 44 inches above the floor.
  • Where a door opening having a threshold below the adjacent ground elevation serves as an emergency escape and rescue opening and is provided with a bulkhead enclosure, the bulkhead enclosure shall comply with the Oregon Residential Specialty Code section R310.3. 
  • The net clear opening dimensions required by this section shall be obtained by the normal operation of the emergency escape and rescue opening from the inside.
  • Emergency escape and rescue openings with a finished sill height below the adjacent ground elevation shall be provided with a window well in accordance with Oregon Residential Specialty Code section R310.2.3.
  • Emergency escape and rescue openings shall open directly into a public way, or to a yard or court that opens to a public way.

Additional information can be found at: