One house I looked at before we decided on our present one had the
basement stairway (without a door) immediately across the narrow hallway
from the front door. I could imagine somebody welcoming visitors and
stepping back too far and plunging down the stairs. It may not have been
a code violation, but it certainly seemed an unwise design.

Perce


On 01/16/13 09:02 am, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I don't know if there is anything adresses this. But, it sure makes sense.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
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"The Daring wrote in message
...
This comes up because of a tragic accident with some folks I know. The
elderly grandmother, 88 was at home with her granddaughter, the
granddaughter's three young children and the granddaughter's boyfriend.
The boyfriend had just spoken to grandma then went into the room with
his gal when they heard an awful sound. Grandma had fallen down the
basement stairs to the concrete floor below. The boyfriend ran down to
check on grandma but she was fatally injured. What happened was the
door to the basement stairs opened into the stairwell and the latch was
defective and failed to hold when grandma was walking down the hallway
holding onto the walls to steady herself. When she put her weight
against the door, it sprang open and she fell through it and down the
stairs. It seems to me that most basement doors I've seen open out and
not into the stairwell. I don't know if there is a home-building code
regarding this or not but anyone building a house should consider the
safety of a door which opens into a stairwell. O_o

TDD