When does a foyer become a stairwell ? We have a foyer in our workshop , it has a wc door , a door into the workshop , a door into an office and an entrance door , the staircase is metal and goes up to a storage area which has a fire door , all the other doors are fire doors . We were asked to remove a small table and two chairs which were there as a mini reception as they were in a stairwell , they also we're not blocking any escape route , the space is out 3m x 3 m . Is this a stairwell ? 

Thanks Andy

 

Of course. Stairwells have heads and foots and the lobby/foyer at the foot of the stair leading to the final exit would be considered part of the protected route. If the travel distances from the furthest point of the storage area to the front door are long enough to require the stair to be protected then the lobby would need to be clear (assuming there isn't a second stair from the storage area)