In Sydney, they have emergency exit lighting standards in place to make certain individuals have a secure path during an urgent situation as well as home fire safety.
Regular emergency light testing and inspection are mandatory and essential for commercial buildings in Sydney. If a user happens to operate a business in a building, the user has to make sure the system is up to scratch.
Standards Emergency Lighting
There is a standard for emergency evacuation lighting in buildings. The standards have three parts:
- AS 2293.1-2005 standard for system design, installation, and operation
- AS/NZS 2293.2:1995 standard for inspection and maintenance
- AS 2293.3-2005 standard for emergency escape luminaries and exit signs
Sydney emergency light standards are published and assessed periodically by SAI Global as well as the Australian government. All standards are compliant with current Australian legislation. If a user creates an account with SAI Global, the user can sign in and view any revisions or perhaps updated standards.
Emergency Exit Lighting Requirements
All Class 6 buildings over 100m2 built after 1st July 1994 require exit and emergency lighting.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) 2010 states the requirement for this in Section E, Part E4. There are different obligations under the Regulations dependent on if the building was built after 1st July 1994, or when building work occurred on that building.
Essentially, all Class 6 buildings over 100m2 built after 1st July 1994 require exit and emergency lighting and all Class 6 buildings require at least one exit sign. Class 6 buildings include restaurants, shops, milk bars, cafés, dining rooms, and bars. This all falls under the Fire Safety Certification for the Annual Fire Safety Statements & Final Fire Safety Certificates. All required exit signs, as well as emergency lights, must comply with Australian Standard AS2293.1.
E4.2 Emergency Lighting Requirements
An emergency lighting system must be installed
- in every fire-isolated stairway, fire-isolated ramp, or fire-isolated passageway; and
- in every story of a Class 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 building where the story has a floor area of more than 300 m2
- in every passageway, corridor, hallway, or the like, that is part of the path of travel to an exit; and
- in any room having a floor area of more than 100 m2 that does not open to a corridor or space that has emergency lighting or to a road or open space; and
i. in any room having a floor area of more than 300 m2; and
- in every passageway, corridor, hallway, or the like, having a length of more than 6 m from the entrance doorway of any sole-occupancy unit in a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building to the nearest doorway opening directly to
- a fire-isolated stairway, fire-isolated ramp, or fire-isolated passageway; or
- an external stairway serving instead of a fire-isolated stairway under D1.8; or
ii. an external balcony leading to a fire-isolated stairway, fire-isolated ramp, or fire-isolated passageway; or
- a road or open space; and
- in every required non-fire-isolated stairway; and
- in a sole-occupancy unit in a Class 5, 6, or 9 building if
- the floor area of the unit is more than 300 m2; and
- an exit from the unit does not open to a road or open space or an external stairway, passageway, balcony, or ramp, leading directly to a road or open space; and
- in every room or space to which there is public access in every story in a Class 6 or 9b building if?
- the floor area in that story is more than 300 m2; or
- any point on the floor of that story is more than 20 m from the nearest doorway leading directly to a stairway, ramp, passageway, road, or open space; or
iii. egress from that story involves a vertical rise within the building of more than 1.5 m, or any vertical rise if the story concerned does not admit sufficient light; or
- the story provides a path of travel from any other story required by (i), (ii) or (iii) to have emergency lighting; and
- in a Class 9a healthcare building
- in every passageway, corridor, hallway, or the like, serving a treatment area or a ward area; and
- in every room having a floor area of more than 120 m2 in a patient care area; and
- in every Class 9c aged care building excluding sole-occupancy units; and
- in every required fire control center.
In addition, the BCA also states the following requirements for Exit signs;
E4.5 Exit Signs
An exit sign must be visible to persons approaching the exit and must be installed on, above, or adjacent to each
- door providing direct egress from a story to
- an enclosed stairway, passageway, or ramp serving as a required exit; and
- an external stairway, passageway, or ramp serving as a required exit; and
- an external access balcony leading to a required exit; and
- door from an enclosed stairway, passageway, or ramp at every level of discharge to a road or open space; and
- horizontal exit; and d. door serving as, or forming part of, a required exit in a story required to be provided with emergency lighting by E4.2.
Emergency Evacuation Light Maintenance
FCF adheres to emergency light standards for inspection and maintenance. It works to the AS 2293.2:1995 which dictates the following testing procedures and intervals:
- All emergency lights and exit signs must be expected at least once every 6 months.
- Inspection & cleaning of fittings and reflective surfaces must occur every 12 months.
- 6 monthly inspections include lamp tests and replacements as well as a 90-minute discharge test.
Emergency Exit Lights & Fire Safety
So, why are emergency lights and exit signs for buildings very crucial for fire safety? As users know, when a fire starts, panic may usually set in. A distinct, illuminated path can save seconds during an emergency. In a smoky hallway in which the visibility of a door might be obscured, an exit sign can direct users through the building and outside to safety.
Emergency lights are most effective when used in conjunction with a planned evacuation procedure. Ensure that the staff or family knows where the safe meeting point is and probably the safest exit route to that point.
