FIRE SAFETY GUIDANCE NOTE

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INTRODUCTION The purpose of escape lighting is to give adequate illumination to ensure a safe exit from a building via a defined escape route and to ensure safety and fire fighting equipment is clearly illuminated. Open area emergency lighting is intended to reduce panic and to enable the safe movement of occupants towards escape routes. DISCUSSION In determining whether emergency lighting is required in a building and to what extent reference should be made to Technical Booklet E or the relevant design code. The code of practice currently used for designing emergency lighting is BS 5266 Part 1. It is not the intention of this guidance note to go into detail explaining this design code as this is covered in Section 6 of the Fire Safety Manual. The purpose of this document is to offer guidance and interpretation on Clause 9.3.4 of BS 5266. CLAUSE 9.3.4 STATES: Non-residential premises used for recreation. This class includes such premises as theatres, concert halls, exhibition halls, sports halls, public houses and restaurants, except for those particular types of premises excluded by Clause 1 which will be separately covered in BS5266, Part 2. The people using such premises may be expected to be unfamiliar with their layout and regard should be paid to the possible effects of the consumption of alcohol. In parts of premises where the normal lighting may be dimmed it is considered essential that a maintained emergency lighting system should be installed but even where it is not the case a maintained system may still have advantages particularly

Emergency and Escape Lighting

(Use of Maintained and Non Maintained Lighting)

16/99 February 1999

in respect of exit signs etc. However early reoccupation of such premises following an emergency is not usual and a maximum duration of emergency lighting of 2 hours should normally be satisfactory even for the largest types of premises in this class. It is recommended therefore, that a M/2 emergency lighting system should be used for theatres, concert halls, discotheques and any other premises in this class in which there is either provision for dimming the normal lights or facilities for the consumption of alcoholic liquor. For other types of premises in this class a NM/2 category system may be used. In small premises, that is, with not more than 250 persons present at any time an M/1 or NM/2 system as appropriate may be employed. For some theatre auditoria where the recommended maintained illuminance of 0.2 Lux is likely to affect normal working, it is considered acceptable to reduce the level to 0.02 Lux, provided that the system is so arranged that in the event of a failure of the normal lighting within the auditoria the escape lighting illuminance is immediately and automatically restored to a minimum of 0.2 Lux. Complete or substantially complete blackouts which may be required for production reasons may only be permitted with the approval of the enforcing authority. In other places where it is desired to reduce artificial light for effect purposes (e.g. a discotheque) it may be permissible, with the approval of the enforcing authority, to extinguish the emergency lighting, provided that the switching for this arrangement is under continuous management control and that the area is visible from the switching position. It is essential that the circuit and equipment adopted is such that the emergency lighting is automatically restored in the event of the failure of the normal supply. Exit signs should remain illuminated at all material times. The question this paper proposes to address is would it be permissible to have a non maintained emergency lighting system in these type of premises provided the exit signs are illuminated at all times when the premises are occupied? Firstly, let us address the distinction between a maintained emergency lighting system against a non-maintained system. The code defines a maintained emergency lighting as a

system in which all emergency lighting lamps are in operation at all material times. A non-maintained system is one in which all emergency lighting lamps are in operation only when the supply to the normal lighting fails. The benefits of having a maintained emergency lighting system in these types of premises are twofold. Firstly, the lighting is illuminated all the time and the occupier can easily check that they are working, this was prevalent in the days of tungsten bulbs which had a shorter life span than the florescent bulbs commonly used today. The second point is that the occupants are never left in total darkness. However, the present thinking would be that with more efficient lighting systems, a maintained emergency lighting system may not be necessary in premises of this type. This is borne out by a number of experts in this field. Below is an extract of a letter on this topic from Colin Todd, author of the Fire Safety Manual; It is true that Clause 9.3.4 does, on the face of it, recommend a type M/2 system for premises in which there is consumption of alcohol. However, I can confirm that in our experience, and from conversations with another expert in the field, custom and practice is such that only the exit signs operate in a maintained mode in many premises of this category including public houses, restaurants, bars within hotels etc. The remainder of the general emergency lights operate in a non-maintained mode. The purpose of operating exit signs in the maintained mode is simply to make them conspicuous by highlighting their presence. The one comment I would make is that many enforcing authorities would take the view that if the lights are likely to be dimmed for some reason, such as use of the area as a discotheque, there would be a requirement for maintained emergency lighting. It is very important, particularly in premises in which alcohol is served, that patrons are not in total darkness at any time. The interpretation of the above code is also reiterated by correspondence with Lou Bedocs technical expert with Thorn and Chris Watts technical expert with Menvier, both of whom sit on the BSI Committee responsible for emergency lighting. BSI Draft EN 50172 document which will possibly replace BS 5266 Part 1 also recommends a maintained system only where the normal lighting is reduced or can be dimmed but exit signs shall be maintained in premises used by people unfamiliar with its layout. It should be noted that the normal lights can be dimmed by switching off banks of lights, but switching out all lights and using disco lights from a socket may not be permissible as the emergency light might not be restored in the event of a failure. CONCLUSION E2 of the Building Regulation (Northern Ireland) 1994 states that a building shall be so designed and constructed that, in the event of fire, there is a means of escape, which can

be safely and effectively used at all material times. Therefore, it would seem reasonable, in light of the latest thinking and technology, to accept a non-maintained emergency lighting system in bars, restaurants and hotel bars. In premises where there is provision for dimming the normal lighting system, a maintained emergency lighting system is required. It is important to make sure that, in all types of premises referred to in Clause 9.3.4 (nonresidential premises used for recreation) that the Exit signs should remain illuminated at all times.

REFERENCES 1. Building Regulations (NI) 1994 2. BS 5266 Part 1 1998 3. EN 50172 Emergency Escape Lighting System 4. Fire Safety Manual