Green exit sign
UK fire safety legislation requires that, where necessary, emergency routes and exits must be indicated with signs where the use of signs will aid evacuation.
In the event of a fire, a building must have adequate emergency escape routes and final exits that enable occupiers to effectively evacuate the building, leading them to a place of safety.
There are very few exceptions where escape route signage would not be necessary. However, to ensure such signage meets the basic criteria of aiding evacuation, the system design, along with type and location of signs must be given thought and consideration.
It is well recognised that building occupiers usually leave the premises by the same way that they enter — or at least by routes which are familiar to them. To ensure all means of escape are utilised when required, a well-planned signage system needs to provide information on all the escape routes and emergency exits that are available.
BS 9999:2017 Fire Safety in the Design, Management and Use of Buildings. Code of Practice notes that “fire safety signs and signing systems form an integral part of the overall fire safety strategy of a building and are fundamental to the communication of good fire safety management information”.
More importantly, BS 9999 continues, “clearly visible and unambiguous signage is essential for speedy escape, particularly in buildings where many of the occupants might be unfamiliar with the building layout”.
There are requirements under UK fire safety legislation where necessary for emergency routes and exits to be “indicated” by signs. The phrase “where necessary” is important and indicates that the fire risk assessment completed for the premises will influence the signage system needs.
BS 5499-4:2019 Safety Signs. Code of Practice for Escape Route Signing explores this further and recommends that, before designing an escape route signage system, various factors need to be considered (in the risk assessment) including the:
Of interest, competency criteria for fire risk assessors notes that assessors should have “an awareness of the provisions for and maintenance of, evacuation signage” but does not expand on this further to stipulate if assessors are capable of designing a system.
Having determined the need for escape route signage, the responsible person must then determine who will design the system.
Where required, depending on the complexity of the signage system required, the responsible person may have to seek competent assistance either in-house or externally to undertake the task in accordance with Article 18 (or its equivalent) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Wherever responsibility for signage system design rests, there are several principles that should be taken into consideration at the planning stage, such as the following.
Taking the above into account, BS 5499-4 then makes recommendations as to several factors that need to be evaluated at the planning stage to meet the above principles. This includes:
The latter point is addressed further in BS 5499-4 as this will influence whether the escape route signage system is illuminated externally (eg by the emergency lighting system) or internally.
In respect of the sign design, BS 5499-4 states that “an escape route sign is a combination sign consisting of the emergency exit sign in BS EN ISO 7010 and should be accompanied by a supplementary safe condition direction arrow and supplementary text”.
However, it is worth noting that Health and Safety Executive guidance contained in L64 states that “if there are fire safety signs still in use which contain symbols or pictograms which conform to the requirements of BS 5499 “they will meet the requirements of the regulations, provided they continue to fulfil their purpose effectively”.
Position and zones of influence
Having determined signage requirements and design, the person responsible for the escape route signage system will need to consider the position of the signs, mounting height, and the necessary dimensions.
There are a number of basic rules to be followed when locating signs that are detailed in various documents, as follows.
In respect of the latter point, L64 states that signs are, in principle, to be installed at a suitable height and in a position appropriate to the line of sight, taking account of any obstacles and in a well-lit, easily accessible and visible location.
This is what is known as the signs’ “required zone of influence” which is defined in BS 5499-10 as the “space in which the safety message intended to be conveyed by a safety sign is effective”.
The zone of influence of any particular safety sign will be determined by the signs’ location, size and position. This may require a certain amount of calculation being undertaken in terms of viewing distances in particular of escape route signage. BS 5499-4 details how to achieve this.
In terms of mounting, the general requirements are that:
The use of escape route signage requires thought and consideration, particularly in terms of its need, the type of sign to be used, its location and effectiveness, and the ability of those close by to understand its meaning.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires means of escape to be identified with escape route signs where necessary. The risk assessment will be the starting point for any signage requirement identification.
Regulation 5 of the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 requires employers to provide employees with suitable and sufficient instruction and training in the meaning of safety signs and the measures to be taken in connection with safety signs. This should be provided at induction and periodically thereafter.
Schedule 1 of the 1996 Regulations and accompanying guidance requires that signage must be cleaned, maintained, checked, repaired, and if necessary, replaced on a regular basis to ensure that they retain their intrinsic and/or functional qualities.
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Fire exit door and fire extinguish equipment
Focus on fire door inspections and maintenance regimes has intensified recently following updates to fire safety regulations, especially in multi-occupied residential buildings. Fire doors are an essential passive fire protection measure that must perform as intended in the event of a fire so as to prevent the spread of fire and smoke.
However, they are often the most used and abused passive fire protection measure in a fire compartment. As such, it is essential that the organisation responsible for fire safety legislation has in place an appropriate inspection and maintenance regime.
Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires (where necessary) that the responsible person must ensure that “any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of the premises under this Order […] are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.”
With reference to Article 17, guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council notes that this Article will apply to fire doors and as such should be “subject to a suitable system of maintenance: they must be regularly checked and properly maintained (including inspection and testing by a competent person, as necessary) at suitable intervals and any faults found rectified as quickly as possible.”
Best practice in the form of BS8214: Timber-based Fire Door Assemblies. Code of Practice, notes that fire doors do deteriorate since they are used in locations along pedestrian transit routes where they might be subject to significant damage or normal wear and tear due to repeated operation and abuse.
BS8214 states that “it is important, therefore, for inspection, maintenance and repair of any damage to be undertaken on a regular basis if the required fire resistance is to be maintained.”
Determining needs
Having set out the legal and best practice requirements, the responsible person will need to determine how best to achieve compliance. Factors to consider will include:
When considering the above, there can be various influences on the decision-making process. These will include:
Clearly, to develop an inspection and maintenance regime, it is important to have an understanding of the fire doors within scope. Development of an inventory or asset register would be beneficial and can include:
The organisation should develop an appropriate document that clearly sets out the requirements of any inspection and maintenance regime. This could form part of an overall fire safety policy in smaller organisations or be a separate (ratified) “protocol” in larger organisations.
Perhaps the most problematic requirement is to determine the type and frequency of inspections. The organisation may decide to follow guidance such as that contained in BS9999: Fire Safety in the Design, Management and Use of Buildings. Code of Practice. This publication recommends the following.
If outsourcing, due diligence should be undertaken to seek assurance that prospective contractors have the necessary competency, for example through membership of appropriate professional bodies and validation to inspect to relevant standards (such as BM Trada Q mark or LPCB LPS 1197).
If undertaking in-house, there are a number of courses available that an organisation may wish to consider, depending on the inspection regime to be implemented (eg FDIS).
It is recognised that some minor works can be undertaken in-house without compromising the fire doors’ performance but other more intrusive works should be undertaken by appropriate competent persons/organisations who are validated to certify that the fire door will still meet its designed and tested performance specification.
Finally, it is important that all testing, inspection and maintenance activities are recorded and made available to relevant stakeholders.
In smaller organisations this could be as simple as having a spreadsheet but in larger organisations there are various off-the-shelf software packages that can be utilised.
To retain their operational integrity, fire door sets or assemblies must be tested, inspected and maintained to a standard and level that is commensurate with the premises’ fire risk profile and fire evacuation strategy.
Developing an appropriate regime will require consideration of various factors and will be subject to a number of influences.
The organisation may be asked to provide proof of its regime to enforcing authorities and other stakeholders.
As part of this, the organisation will need to provide proof of the regime that is in place, including the necessary competency of those given responsibility to implement the inspection and maintenance regime.
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Starting July 2
025, the use of Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) fire extinguishers, widely used to combat flammable liquid fires, will be banned due to their harmful environmental and health effects.
The ban primarily targets C8-based firefighting foams containing long-chain PFAS compounds like PFOA. These substances are being phased out due to their environmental persistence and associated health risks. However, C6-based foams, which use shorter-chain PFAS compounds, are not currently included in the ban. They are considered a safer alternative and are still permitted under UK regulations.
That said, the UK government and environmental agencies are keeping a close watch on PFAS regulations, and future restrictions on all PFAS-based products, including C6 foams, remain possible as part of broader environmental policies .
Here are some recommended alternatives for various industry needs if your business has C8 foam fire extinguishers on site:
Businesses should plan now to transition their equipment, as proper disposal of existing C8 AFFF extinguishers will also be required by certified hazardous waste disposal services.
This proactive approach will ensure compliance with the 2025 deadline and maintain a safe, environmentally responsible fire safety system.
Contact us if you have any questions.
As part of an overall maintenance strategy, organisations should identify ageing fire precautions and have in place a regime to maintain such items.
Many buildings will have fire precautions that can be described as physical assets that need to be properly maintained to ensure that they are fit for purpose and continue to function as efficiently and effectively as possible. This will ensure legal duties in relation to protecting relevant persons from the risk of fire are met.
All fire precautions will be subject to ageing, which if not managed appropriately can lead to equipment failure, which in turn can lead to future regulatory non-compliance, increased fire risks to life and greater business continuity issues in the event of a fire.
As part of an overall maintenance strategy, organisations should identify ageing fire precautions that may require a maintenance regime that goes beyond “best practice”, and put into place the regime to maintain such items.
Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that “where necessary in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons the responsible person must ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided in respect of the premises under this Order … are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair”.
It should be noted that similar requirements are contained in the respective legislation for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In this context, “where necessary” can be taken as meaning that the duty holder must do what is reasonable to protect relevant persons in terms of the maintenance needs of the facilities, equipment and devices provided under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
In turn, these can be described as the general fire precautions that will include measures:
The key part of Article 17 is the requirement for these elements to be maintained in an efficient state, efficient working order and good repair. Guidance for enforcing authorities notes that this is a three-part test that can be best described as follows.
Maintenance of general fire precautions is an essential part of the overall fire risk management framework and can form part of any formal enforcement procedures.
Government publication, Guidance Note No 1: Enforcement, states that risk assessments should include references to maintenance. It continues by stating that enforcing authorities are “expected to use their professional judgement in evaluating the maintenance of any equipment and devices provided in accordance with the risk assessment to protect all relevant persons in and around the premises from the dangers of fire”.
To meet the above requirements, those responsible for fire safety will normally adopt a regime of planned preventative maintenance based upon best practice (such as detailed in relevant British Standards) in conjunction with a reactive repairs regime in the event of defects occurring/being identified between maintenance schedules.
However, during its lifecycle all fire precautions can degrade due to age-related mechanisms and it may be the case that maintenance frequency and regimes could be required that are beyond those recommended in the British Standards. It is therefore essential that as part of the overall maintenance regime, such ageing is identified, considered and appropriate measures are taken to manage the risks.
When referring to ageing fire precautions, it is important to note that this does not necessarily relate to the chronological ageing process, rather ageing is “the effect whereby a component suffers some form of material deterioration and damage with an increasing likelihood of failure over the lifetime of the asset”.
As an example, a property can have fire door assemblies of the same age and specification throughout the premises, yet one assembly could be subject to greater ageing due to its location, frequency of use and potential for damage to occur through use.
The management of ageing fire precautions therefore begins with an awareness that ageing is not about how old the equipment is, but what is known about its condition, and the factors that influence the onset, evolution and mitigation of its degradation. This suggests that for those with responsibility for maintaining ageing fire assets, there is a need to:
As well as the physical ageing process, other factors will need to be given consideration. This can include obsolescence and a lack of spare parts or the disappearance of the original equipment manufacturer, or non-conformance with current safety requirements, codes, standards and procedures.
Competency, availability and organisation of the employees/contractors responsible for asset management are also essential to ensuring that this understanding of current and predicted asset condition is used when making asset management decisions.
BS 9997: Fire Risk Management Systems notes that organisations should “plan, document, implement and manage the processes for maintenance and testing of fire safety systems to ensure that they operate correctly in the event of fire”.
As part of this, an organisation may require an “ageing maintenance programme”. This should detail the actions necessary to ensure any ageing fire precautions are maintained in an efficient and cost-effective way. The main elements of such a plan will be as follows.
It should be noted that within an ageing maintenance programme there may be differing schedules from those in relation to statutory compliance requirements being met through normal best practice. Where this is the case, the ageing maintenance programme needs to interface with such compliance requirements.
It should be noted that management of ageing fire precautions will require regular monitoring, review and revalidation following any unwanted incidents, major repairs, refurbishment or replacement of key items.
Managing ageing fire precautions effectively may require a shift in the way fire asset condition is regarded, assessed and maintained. This requires a proactive approach with a thorough understanding of the fire asset ageing mechanisms and condition, and the ways in which assets interact (including cause and effect).
The characteristics of an “ageing asset” can be defined as when:
If you require further information, please contact us.
7 Fire Safety Precautions Every Employer Must Know To Ensure A Safe Work Environment
Lets face it, it’s easy to have the “it won’t happen to me” mentality when it comes to fire safety in your workplace. But the truth is, a fire can be catastrophic for your business, your employees and of course your brand reputation. This is why fire safety is an incredibly important aspect of risk management that needs to be taken seriously by every employee and manager in your business.
So, to help you improve the fire safety of your workplace, here are 7 precautions you must know to keep those detrimental fires at bay.
Appoint fire wardens
First and foremost, you should appoint at least one fire warden in your workplace. Fire wardens are members of staff who are responsible for taking control of creating and maintaining fire safety procedures. In the event of a fire, they’ll know how to keep employees, contractors and customers safe, and will be the person in charge coordinating the evacuation.
Stock relevant fire safety equipment
In the event of a fire in a workplace, having the right equipment is essential for alerting employees and members of the public, and potentially extinguish the fire before it gets any bigger and out of control.
With this in mind, ensure your workspace has working universal smoke alarms, the correct fire safety signs, fire escape ladders if necessary and fire prevention systems such as fire extinguishers and sprinklers.
Communicate appropriate fire escape routes
In the event of a fire, clear escape routes out of the building are absolutely vital. All escape routes must be easily identifiable and with instructions about the means of escape displayed. You also need to provide training for your employees on how to escape in the event of an emergency.
Escape routes must be adequately illuminated and free of any obstacles. As an employer, yourself or the fire warden should do daily checks to ensure these areas are not blocked in case a fire were to occur that day.
Keep your workplace tidy and clean
You don’t have to be a genius to work out that messy workplaces contain more health and safety hazards than tidy ones, and many of these hazards are related to fire safety.
Any spare stock should be stored safely, and appropriate control measures implemented to safely store flammable materials and liquids in line with COSHH regulations. You should also ensure that you are regularly removing combustible waste, including accumulations of dust, before it has a chance to build up and become a safety hazard.
Create a fire safety plan
When it comes to keeping your employees, contractors and visitors safe, it is crucial that you have a clear fire safety plan in place. Delivering a fire safety plan is also a legal requirement for workplaces operating in the UK and employers, business owners and landlords are all equally responsible for delivering an adequate fire safety plan.
If you’re unsure where to start, here is everything you need to know about how to create a fire safety plan for your workplace.
Carry out thorough risk assessments
You can’t effectively safeguard against fire if you’re not fully aware of the hazards in your workplace and the risks they pose. So before you begin implementing fire safety control measures, carry out a thorough risk assessment of your workplace.
For businesses with more than five employees, risk assessments are a legal requirement, but they’re also hugely important for protecting your business from harm.
Risk assessments should identify fire hazards i.e. what could cause a fire to start?
Then they should assess the level of risk posed, consider who could be affected, and how fire risks can be alleviated. You can then implement control measures proportionate to the level of risk. To ensure long-term fire safety in the workplace, it’s important to review and potentially revise risk assessments regularly.
Crack down on electrical safety
Last but certainly not least, don’t forget electrical safety! Most businesses will use electrical equipment of some sort – and where there’s electrical equipment, there are fire risks. Faulty wiring or overloaded plug sockets can overheat and spark fires that can quickly spread across the room.
To reduce the risk of electrical fires, repair or get rid of faulty electricals as soon as possible, don’t overload plug sockets, and make sure equipment is regularly inspected and PAT tested.
Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Guest blog by Kate, on behalf of Morsafe Supplies.
