Fire Exit Signs

Fire exit signs are essential for any building to comply with current Health and safety regulations. Fire exit signs point the user to the nearest fire exit and need to be understood whatever the users language.
Directional fire exit signs and final exit signs used to be text only and included an arrow for travel direction to the nearest fire exit only when appropriate. However, the E.C. introduced regulations stating signs including fire exit signs should offer a common language of communication across E.C. states - pictograms are therefore now used on all fire exit signs. This enables it to be understood independently of language. BS 5499: Part 1: 1990 illustrates physical symbols which were recently approved by the International Standards Organisation which now uses them in its standard, ISO 6309: Fire Protection- Safety signs, as the design recommended for escape route and final fire exit signs. The symbols used in these fire exit signs have undergone a rigorous clarity study within a number of countries and were deemed the most understandable symbols. If you are letting out a building, employing staff or inviting the public into your premises, you must have fire exit signs. Fire exit signs are green with white writing and a symbol of a running man. While having the correct fire exit signs is important, the correct application and positioning of fire exit signs is equally important. The British Standards Institution has released BS 5499: Part 4: Code of Practice for Escape Route Signing, 2000. This covers: System design, Fire exit and escape route signs, sign type, size and viewing distance, sign construction and suitability, maintenance of signs and the use of arrows relating to the users direction of travel to a fire exit. Overall, Fire exit signs should provide clear, unambiguous instructions that guide persons immediately to a final exit out of a building. The wrong positioning of fire exit signs can cause confusion and in emergencies could be life threatening. You should ensure that the shortest travel distance from various evacuation starting points to the escape route is measured directional fire exit signs used appropriately. If at any place there is a choice of two escape routes of the same travel distance, both courses should be shown by a unconnected sequence of signs. The Code expands upon these points, clearly defining the standards of sign locations, arrow directions, mounting heights and positions of fire exit signs.