According to UL, a man-sized opening is defined as greater than which area and the smaller dimension greater than which length?

• A. 100 square inches and the smaller dimension greater than 6 inches
• B. 64 square inches and the smaller dimension greater than 4 inches
• C. 96 square inches and the smaller dimension greater than 6 inches
• D. 96 square inches and the smaller dimension greater than 4 inches

Answer: (C)

UL assesses a man-sized opening by requiring it to be genuinely large enough for a person to pass through, using two criteria together: the area must exceed 96 square inches, and the smaller dimension must be greater than 6 inches. This combination ensures the opening is not only wide in area but also has a substantial, usable width in one direction, preventing tall but very narrow openings from counting as man-sized. For example, an opening of 9 inches by 11 inches has an area of 99 square inches and a smaller dimension of 9 inches, meeting both conditions and qualifying as man-sized. An opening of 6 inches by 16 inches has the same area (96 square inches) but the smaller dimension is only 6 inches, so it does not meet the second criterion and does not count. A 12 by 9 inch opening yields 108 square inches with a smaller dimension of 9 inches, which does meet both criteria.