The LWF Blog

Fire Safety Engineering for Design – Siting of Escape Lighting – Part 180

April 22, 2024 11:03 am

LWF’s Fire Safety Engineering blog series is written for Architects, building designers and others in the construction industry to highlight and promote discussion on all topics around fire engineering. In part 179, LWF talked about high-risk task areas and open plan and undefined areas of a building in the context of emergency lighting. In part 180, we discuss the illumination of exit signs.

Fire exit signs in a building must be visible to the building occupants, even if the mains power fails. Exit signs should therefore be illuminated, either internally or externally from a remote source. In UK legislation, the specific requirements are given in Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.

In other parts of the world, reference may be made to NFPA 5000, the International Building Code or NFPA 170.

It should be noted when applying international codes that NFPA 101 and the International Building Code 2015 require exit signs to be illuminated at all times, whether located internally or externally. NFPA 101 provides a qualification that this only applies when the building has normal power and is occupied.

Emergency exit signs in a building should be uniform in colour and style to ensure recognisability and consistency to the persons inside the building. They should also be located within reasonably close proximity to the relevant door, ensuring the association is unambiguous.

The signs should be sited so that there is a clear contrast between the sign and the surroundings. Signs which only show text should no longer be installed.

Fire exit signs that comply with BS 5499-1 may still be used in the UK, as long as they are installed in a building which already contains this kind of sign. This codicil only applies because BS 5499-1 is cited in the Building Regulations 2010 Approved Document B – Fire Safety, as BS 5499-1 has been withdrawn and replaced by BS ISO 3864-1.

Self-luminous signs may be used as exit signs, where used they must comply with the appropriate legislation or code.

In part 181 of LWF’s series on fire engineering we will look at appropriate levels of illumination for escape routes and emergency safety lighting to allow ‘stay-in-place’. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this blog, or wish to discuss your own project with one of our fire engineers, please contact us.

Lawrence Webster Forrest has been working with their clients since 1986 to produce innovative and exciting building projects. If you would like further information on how LWF and fire strategies could assist you, please contact the LWF office on 0800 410 1130.

While care has been taken to ensure that information contained in LWF’s publications is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of this information.

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