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N.Y. MRE Law § 256

This is the official text of N.Y. MRE Law § 256, part of New York’s MRE Law — part of the compiled statutory law of New York, published by the state as "MRE Law." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Bulkheads and scuttles

Official statutory text

§ 256. Bulkheads and scuttles. 1. Every required stair and fire-stair\nin a dwelling three stories or more in height shall have a bulkhead\nconstructed as provided for fireproof dwellings in section two hundred\nfour.\n 2. A dwelling which is two stories or less in height shall be provided\nat each required stair or fire-stair either with such bulkhead or with a\nscuttle at least two feet by three feet in size, located in the ceiling\nof the public hall on the top story. Every such scuttle shall be\narranged to be readily opened, shall be covered on the outside with\nmetal and shall be provided with stairs or a stationary metal ladder\nleading thereto and easily accessible to all the occupants of the\ndwelling.\n 3. When the roof of a dwelling is pitched or sloped more than fifteen\ndegrees, no bulkhead or scuttle, or stair or ladder leading thereto,\nshall be required.\n

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.