Emergency Lighting Guidelines
The size and type of your premises and the risk to the occupants will determine the complexity of the emergency escape lighting required. In simple single storey premises where borrowed lighting or torches are not appropriate, single ‘stand-alone’ escape lighting units maybe sufficient and these can sometimes be combined with exit or directional signs. The level of general illumination should not be significantly reduced by the sign.
In larger, complex premises a more comprehensive system of fixed automatic escape lighting is likely to be needed. This will be particularly true in premises with extensive basements or where there are significant numbers of staff or members of public.
In other large premises such as warehouses and factories, an efficient and effective method of illuminating escape routes in an emergency is by using spot lights. These are normally self contained units consisting of a battery, switching mechanism and spot lights, fitted to operate automatically on a circuit or mains failure.
You will have identified the escape routes (both internal and external) when carrying out your fire risk assessment and need to ensure they are all adequately lit.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order became law on 1st October 2006 and affects all non-domestic premises.