Technology has changed the world we live in, and has not only made things quicker, easier and more entertaining, in many cases it has worked towards making things safer. Emergency Lighting has been designed and enhanced to do just that; create a safe, well lit exit from a building in the event of a power failure. Emergency lighting must be adequate for people to see and navigate any obstacles and also be automatic, switching on when the other lights fail to do so. Alan Daniels, Technical Director at P4 Fastel comments “We are fortunate in having a generally reliable electricity supply and so an installed emergency lighting system is not often needed for general mains failure. Rather, it is there to help people escape from often unfamiliar premises in circumstances that are also disorienting. The loss of all lighting and the need to escape from any unfamiliar building during darkness can cause panic and in a fire situation could lead to loss of life. Emergency lighting provides all occupants with assistance to be able to see and follow escape routes and signs and therefore escape as quickly as possible. It may not often be needed, but without emergency lighting the building owner or occupier is not exercising due care for the people in their premises.”
Daniels continues “The UK Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) requires that where applicable all appropriate fire precautions shall be taken, including the installation of emergency lighting. It requires that risk assessments shall be carried out and usually documented to provide evidence of compliance with applicable standards, including the BS5266 suite of emergency lighting standards.
The evidence of compliance must be of not only having emergency lighting installed where required but also of testing and maintaining it in accordance with the standards. Over the past few years there have been a number of fines imposed for
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non compliance and in some cases imprisonment for the failure to comply with the RRO and so flouting or ignoring it can have dire consequences.” When choosing an emergency lighting system companies and individuals have many things to consider. When planning, the system needs to meet building regulations and once installed it needs to be checked regularly for any faults. Most emergency lighting runs
off the main system but then once the power is cut a battery takes over, when power is then restored again the battery will charge for further use.
The system must be checked with the power supply cut off, to see if each module works independently and then once again with the power supply on to check if the charging light is on.
Emergi-Lite specialise in Emergency Lighting and can handle the complete job, from planning and designing to installation
It may not often be needed, but without emergency lighting the building owner or occupier is not exercising due care for the people in their premises.”
Alan Daniels, Technical Director at P4 Fastel
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