Which statement about exit access is true?

• A. Exit access is the portion of the means of egress leading to an exit.
• B. Exit access is the portion from the exit to the exterior.
• C. Exit access is the protected path to a public way.
• D. Exit access is the exterior path to safety.

Answer: (A)

Exit access is the portion of the means of egress that leads to an exit. This part includes the spaces you move through before reaching the door to an exit—think corridors, lobbies, and aisles that bring you to the exit itself. It ends at the door of the exit and does not cover the exterior area beyond the door or any path outside.

That makes the statement true because it correctly identifies exit access as the segment of travel that brings occupants to the exit. The other descriptions mix in later parts of the egress: the path from the end of exit access to the exterior is the exit, and the path from the exterior to a public way is the exit discharge. The term “exterior path to safety” isn’t the standard way to describe these components.