EMERGENCY LIGHTING SYSTEMS
Hochiki’s FIREscape Nepto is described by it as ‘a cost-effective and fully compliant emergency lighting system based around an addressable emergency lighting control panel, and featuring addressable, self-contained LED luminaires and exit signs’. Hochiki says: “Its extra- low operating voltage, and ability to continually self-test and monitor itself, make installation and maintenance quick, easy, and less costly, compared with central battery or mains-powered systems.”
‘emergency mode’, and will be non- maintained.
n Exit signage: The escape routes from a building must be clearly and unambiguously defined. This is best achieved by self-illuminated luminaires. These must be compliant to relevant standards in size, colour, and luminous intensity, with appropriate and current symbols – commonly known as ‘running man’ signs.
n Non-illuminated signs are commonly used as they are cheaper, but they should also be illuminated to specified levels, which is all too often overlooked, making them non-compliant and difficult to see when the mains light has failed.
What are the regulations surrounding emergency lighting in healthcare settings? Anything to do with the safety of the public, or employees, is generally heavily regulated. There are laws, regulations, and standards in place to define where emergency lighting is required, and how it should be installed, maintained, and tested. This ensures that lighting levels at key points in the design of the system
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are at compliant levels. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety)
Order (RRFSO) 2005 charges the Responsible Person (or Duty Holder in Scotland, and Appropriate Person in Northern Ireland) in control of non- domestic premises and the common areas of a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) with the safety of everyone in the building. ‘Everyone’ in this case means anyone who is either working, visiting, or living there. This duty of care includes the provision of emergency lighting. Article 14 (2) (h) of the RRFSO states: “Emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting.” There is also the British Standard, BS
5266, which covers the design, testing, reporting, and maintenance of emergency lighting, ensuring that once installed the devices and system are not forgotten about. Emergency lighting is an essential component to the fire safety provision of a building, and must not be ignored. If you are the person responsible for the safety of the people using your building. It is therefore imperative that you work with specialists who are trusted experts
Emergency lighting is lighting that automatically comes into operation when the mains power supply to the normal lighting fails, for example during a power cut in a hospital or other healthcare facility, or when a lighting circuit breaker has tripped. This specialist lighting is required wherever the public has access to a building, or where people are employed
60 Health Estate Journal September 2023
in this field, and can design and install emergency lighting products which are compliant and fit for purpose.
How has emergency lighting legislation changed since the Hackitt report? As part of the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire, Dame Judith Hackitt was commissioned to undertake an independent review of the Building Regulations, and in particular their impact on fire safety. In May 2018, a year on from the tragedy, Dame Judith published her final report, Building a Safer Future, labelled as the next ‘key step in an extensive overhaul to building safety legislation’ by former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick. The report’s overarching theme was
that building safety and regulation in the UK was far below the required standard, and needed urgent updates to ensure that there is never a tragedy like Grenfell ever again. The report signalled significant and widespread changes that would impact on both the construction and ongoing management of residential building blocks. Following the release of the Hackitt
report, the Building Safety Act was then implemented and granted Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, thus becoming law. The Act made ground-breaking reforms – including far-reaching protections for qualifying leaseholders from the costs associated with remediating historical building safety defects, and an ambitious toolkit of measures that will allow those responsible for building safety defects to be held to account, with new criminal offences for the worst offenders, fines, and up to two years in prison.
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