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You
must decide which of the two styles you want to use, but the
European Format is the one that is preferred and is commonly
available (including for
emergency lighting
units). You must not mix the styles of sign in the same building
to prevent people getting confused in an emergency.
Location
All
areas of your Church or Place of Worship need to have fire exit
signs installed, especially areas that are used by the public or
if there could be confusion as to which doors are exits.
To
start with, place a sign over every 'final exit' door like the
main entrance or a fire exit door. These signs would normally
not have an arrow, but could include words to prevent confusion.
Place signs over every exit door in each main room in the
building. There is no need to put signs in small rooms like
toilets and offices where there is only one exit and in areas
where the public are not normally admitted and the exit route is
obvious. These signs should have a down arrow (or optionally an
up arrow for the British Standard sign type).
Signs must not be too high and need to be clearly seen in the
room. It is normal practice to fit them just above the exit
door, at a maximum of 2.5 metres from the floor. Signs can be
fitted onto walls by screws or self-adhesive fixings. In some
cases, it might be necessary to suspend exit signs on chains so
that they can be seen or to protect historic building features.
Signs must not be placed high up, as they will not be seen,
especially if the room is smoke filled.
In
some situations, signs may be fitted onto doors, but this should
be avoided because the sign might be hidden by the open door. It
might be a useful option to place a sign on an exit door in
addition to another sign above the door, if the height of the
door is above 2.5 metres.
If
you do not have any fixed emergency lighting installed, it might
be worth considering using 'photoluminescent' signs, which
glow-in-the-dark. Installing these signs is not a substitute
for
emergency lighting,
but might be used in addition to emergency torches.
Other signs might be needed to tell people that they need to
change direction or move along a corridor. In these cases, a
sign with a directional arrow (left or right) needs to be used.
If you have long corridors, it is a good idea to place exit
signs at eye level at regular intervals along the length. At
stairs, it would be usual to use a sign with a 45 degree arrow
(such as a down and right arrow).
It
is a useful check to make sure that you can always see the next
exit sign from any point as you move along the exit route.
Temporary signs
In
some situations, especially listed buildings, it might not be
possible to fit exit signs because they will affect the historic
features of the building. In these cases, it might be
acceptable to use temporary signs for special events or
situations where additional exit routes are needed.
Signs may be propped over doors (providing there is no danger of
them falling away) or fixed using small fixings that cannot be
seen normally (like small nails). Signs can be suspended from
wires or chains from features like pipes and electrical
trunking. Alternatively, a small stand can be made or bought
that the sign can be fixed onto - the stand it placed by the
exit when it is needed, however the sign can easily be moved
about so care is needed to make sure that it is always in the
correct place.
Signs can be removed if they need to be, but they should be in
place for as much of the time as possible, especially where the
public use the building. Be aware that there is an absolute
requirement under regulations to have fire exit signs and the
use of removable signs is not normally desired.
Keep clear signs
It
is essential that fire exit doors are not blocked and are kept
clear, usually for several metres outside the door. It is common
to use a sign on the outside of fire exit doors to remind people
of this. The sign would usually be a "mandatory" sign (a blue
circle) and would typically read "Fire exit keep clear". Please
see our
Safety
Signs
page for more information on safety signs.
Some signs are available that include both the exit sign and a
keep clear sign in two sections: one green (the exit sign) and
one blue (the keep clear sign). These can be used inside -
under no circumstances should a green exit sign be placed on the
outdid of a fire exit door as this could lead to confusion in an
emergency. |
