Emergency Lighting

[Tournifreak]

All,

Does anyone know anything about the legislation surrounding emergency lighting? Specifically, BS5266:2005

Our church building doesn't have any (in common with the vast majority of churches build >20yrs ago). Previously we've justified not having any in our fire safety risk assessment by saying the ambient lighting from streetlights and a carpark opposite is sufficient. Also, no groups are allowed to use the building overnight.

I've just been told by an electrical contractor that BS5266:2005 doesn't allow any exceptions at all, and that it overrides our risk assessment, and the advice of the fire authority (given ~18months ago)

I'm pretty sure BS docs are not available online (which seenms very wrong, but there you go). Does anyone have any authoritive answer on this?

This is DIY in the sense that muggins will probably end up installing it!

Thanks for any help,

Jon.

[Peter Parry]

BS documents are not mandatory and only become so by being called up as part of another legislative document. BS 5266 describes how emergency lighting must be installed, not when it must be installed. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the one you need to be looking at and this is risk assessment based.

14(2)(h) says "emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting."

If your risk assessment shows the exit routes don't require illumination then that should be sufficient.

[Owain]

I've emailed you separately a Code of Practice; hope it helps. Unfortunately the Standards themselves are not available even from the online technical reference library I use but larger libraries may have access to BSI online.

Owain

[David Hansen]

On 28 Mar 2007 01:51:03 -0700 someone who may be "Tournifreak" wrote this:-

To add to what Peter has said, to some extent it depends on whether there are large numbers of new people coming to the church or not. If there are not then the regular attenders will be aware of the layout and the risk is a lot less than if it was filled with people unfamiliar with the layout.

A church hall used for public entertainment would be a different matter, as there may be large numbers of people who don't know the layout in the hall.

[Bill]

In message , Tournifreak writes

Regardless of anything else how would street lights etc. help you in the case of a wide area power cut where they too would go out? I would look at having at least exit signs backed up.

[Dave]

I am no expert here, but I suspect that there is an anomaly in the law.

There are two buildings close to me. They are within 50 foot of each other, the first is the village hall, looked after by the local Boro council. This has all the emergency lights , both exit signs and lights to let you see your way out, that light up when the power fails. The next door building is the local primary school (run by county). The only emergency lights it has are on the new build areas (built in the last 3 years) and consists of emergency exit signs that light up when power goes off. It is as black as a coal face at night.

As far as I can ascertain, there is no law that requires retrospective (see your way out) lights to be fitted to an older building. Both buildings were built in the very late 70's.

Dave

[Peter Parry]

You are mixing up the need to have emergency lighting for use in case of a power cut and emergency lighting for use in case of a fire in the building (which may also involve a loss of power within that building).

In the first case you may need something as all the surrounding lighting will be out, in the second case you may not. The decision, quite rightly, should be based upon a risk evaluation of the local situation carried out by people who know it; not by some blanket rule imposed by jobsworths who are unaware of the conditions.

[David Hansen]

On Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:25:39 +0100 someone who may be Dave wrote this:-

A building which may be full of people unfamiliar with the layout regularly.

A building which is unlikely to be full of people who don't know the layout.

[Tournifreak]

risk assessment states there is no need for EM lighting in case of a fire (which I think is true anyway).

In terms of a wide-area blackout, I don't think there's any emergency, and therefore no EM lighting required.

I guess the ideal would be to have EM lighting fitted anyway though. The cost would be fairly minimal if other works were done at the same time. So I'll add it to the list of things that need to be done when we next do major refurbishment. (probably ~5 yrs away)

Thanks all, and esp. Owain for the BS.

Regards, Jon.

[David Hansen]

On 29 Mar 2007 03:15:50 -0700 someone who may be "Tournifreak" wrote this:-

That is a very sensible approach.