This is the fourth of the weekly guides that you can add to your fire safety guidance documentation, this week we are going to cover ‘Safety routes and Emergency lighting’.
Making sure you and your employees make it out of the building during an incident is your main priority, so ensuring the escape routes are checked is essential.
Make it part of your daily checks to confirm that all escape routes are:
- Clear of any obstructions (physical items blocking access)
- Clear of any slip or trip hazards (including spillages)
Fire doors must be checked to ensure they are clear and fully working, doors help to prevent the risk of fire, smoke and heat from spreading around your premises. Resulting in less damage.
Ensure all doors have been checked for the following:
- Ensure all fire doors are closed and have not been wedged open
- Check of final exit doors to ensure that they open easily (using a push bar and not the use of a key)
- Check all doors used on escape paths are clear of obstructions
- Check outside the fire door to ensure that they are clear and that they are available to be used as access by the fire service.
Emergency Escape Lighting is to be monitored by a competent person with the right level of training to carry out routine testing.
During an incident there may be a chance that the building could lose its normal lighting functionality and therefore emergency backup lighting will take over, so it is essential that it is tested regularly at a time of minimal risk.
