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| Emergency Lighting System
Design |
Building regulations
1991
Approved Document B details fire safety
requirements for new buildings and has been revised and issued
as Edition 2000. Table 9 shows the locations that must be
provided with emergency lighting. It now defines that all open
areas other than residential sites larger than 60m2 must be
covered. It also clarifies that emergency lighting is needed
for all parts of schools that either do not have natural light
or are used outside normal school hours.
Site
specific installations
Because of their very specific
risks, a number of types of premises such as mines, sports
grounds, sub-surface railway stations and construction sites
have their own regulations and as such are excluded from the
Workplace Regulations.
Fire precautions in the
workplace regulations 1997
This legislation uses and
modifies the Fire Precautions Act 1971. With the exception of
Site Specific Installations it covers areas where anyone is
employed. It is considerably more wide-ranging than the
previous Fire Precautions Act requirements, stipulating that
any site with five or more employees must keep a formal record
of Fire Risk Assessment. This should evaluate the site and
detail measures taken to ensure the safety of the premises.
Compliance with BS5266 or BS5839 is deemed to comply with
these requirements. Note: Further guidance is given in Fire
Safety an Employer’s Guide from HSE Books.
Licensing
requirements
Some premises such as places of
entertainment and those selling alcohol, require legislative
acceptance by the Local Authority. This is normally controlled
by a satisfactory report on the site from the relevant Fire
Authority.
Acceptable testing and
maintenance
Records of a system are now essential to
maintain the validity of approvals and licences.
The
health and safety (Safety signs and signals) regulations
1996
This regulation requires adequate provision of
signs protected by emergency lighting. It details that signs
should be located at all final exits and also on the escape
routes at any location where the route may be in doubt. Note:
Risk Assessment – When the premises are being assessed,
shortcomings in other areas of Fire Protection can be
compensated for by improved levels of emergency lighting and
fire alarms.
System design to meet BS 5266 Parts 1
and 7 1999
Design objective
BS5266, when
referring to the provision of Escape Lighting in section 4.2,
requires that when the supply to the normal lighting, or parts
of the normal lighting in occupied premises fails, escape
lighting is required to fulfil the following function:
(a)
to indicate clearly and unambiguously the escape
routes.
(b) to provide illumination along such routes to
allow safe movement towards and through the exits
provided.
(c) to ensure that fire alarm call points and
fire fighting equipment provided along escape routes can be
readily located.
(d) to permit operations concerned with
safety measures
Defining the format of
signs
• BS2560 signs should have been replaced by 24th
December 1998
• BS5499 signs are still acceptable
• Sign
styles should not be mixed
• European Signs format – this
came into force on 1st April 1996 under The Signs
Directive
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BS2560 |
BS5499 |
European
Format | |
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