Winter is now fully upon us, with the days getting shorter. With fewer daytime hours, it’s important to check that your business’s emergency lighting is sufficient, working and well maintained. This should be assessed by a monthly function test.
- Are your premises used during periods of darkness?
- Will there always be sufficient lighting to safely use escape routes?
- Do you have a back-up power supply for your emergency lighting?
Emergency lighting is used primarily to illuminate escape routes in the event of a fire, but it also illuminates other safety equipment.
The type of business premises, and the risks to employees/customers, will determine the emergency lighting system required. Your Fire Risk Assessment will advise you about what’s needed for your premises.
As a rule, in a small premises where escape routes are simple, borrowed lighting (street lamps) may be acceptable. If this is not available, torches placed in the premises to be used by trained staff may also be acceptable.
In larger and more complex premises, it’s likely that a much more widespread system of electrical automatic emergency lighting will be needed to illuminate all the escape routes.
Emergency lighting systems should cover:
- Each exit door
- Escape routes
- Intersections of corridors
- Outside each final exit and external escape routes
- Emergency Escape signs
- Stairways – each step must receive adequate lighting
- Changes in floor level
- Windowless rooms and toilet accommodation exceeding eight square metres
- Firefighting equipment
- Fire alarm call points
- Equipment that needs to be shut down in an emergency
- Lifts
- Areas in a premises greater than 60 square metres
Some premises may benefit from the use of ‘way guidance’ equipment. These may be in the form of photo luminescent materials such as lines of LEDs or strips of incandescent lamps, forming a continuous marked escape route.
These are particularly beneficial for premises where people are unfamiliar with the environment. They are also effective if people may have to travel through smoke filled areas.
If you’re installing emergency lighting systems or putting in additional lighting, make sure the work is carried out by a competent person and in accordance with the appropriate standards (BS 5266: Part 1)
Emergency lighting systems should be regularly tested and maintained:
- Testing often entails using a ‘fishtail’ key, which is inserted into a special switch that is usually near the main fuse board or adjacent to the relevant light switches.
- Testing should include daily visual checks and monthly function checks – make sure when testing that you allow sufficient time for each lamp to illuminate.
- Annual full discharge test. Note, it will take 24 hours after a full discharge for the batteries to be fully recharged.
- All tests should be recorded in your fire safety maintenance/testing logbook. Download Maintenance/Testing Logbook Here