Coos Bay Hall Building – Egress Stair

JBE was hired to provide the structural design for a new egress stair for the historic Hall Building, in downtown Coos Bay, Oregon. The previous fire escape was original to the building, was deteriorating and was structurally unsafe, too compromised to support occupants exiting during an emergency. This building was constructed in the 1920s on timber piles which bear on unconsolidated fill and bay mud. These soils are not suitable for supporting structural loads – such as from a new egress stair. To solve this problem, JBE procured a soils report showing that the bay muds extended roughly 120 down before bedrock was encountered. Micropiles were specified to be driven through the mud layer to the bedrock, and the structural slab supporting the egress stair was founded upon these piles.

The end result is a stable, serviceable stair tower that provides safe exiting from the building in case of emergency, is fully code-compliant and adds value to the structure and peace of mind to its occupants.