PSISeptember2017a

FIRE SAFETY
Emergency Lighting Standards
Ian Watts, emergency
lighting manager at
Hochiki Europe,
explains the most
recent updates to BS
5266 and what they
mean for life safety
system installers in
the UK
To find out more about
Hochiki Europe visit
www.hochikieurope.com
42
he British Standards Institution’s BS 5266
TPart 1 2016 Emergency Lighting Code of
Practice is a key standard in the life safety
industry, helping to define Best Practice in the
design, installation and maintenance of
emergency lighting in order to protect the wellbeing
of building occupants at all times.
Recent updates to the standard bring a raft of
changes that installers and duty holders need to
be aware of to make certain that new and
existing buildings continue to be compliant and
keep occupants safe.
Under the latest fire safety legislation in the
UK and Europe, BS 5266 is no longer a
prescriptive requirement. Buildings’ life safety
systems can be legally compliant without being
certified to this British Standard. However,
compliance with BS 5266 is the easiest way to
demonstrate to the auditing authorities that
adequate safety precautions are in place.
Certification needs to be reviewed every 12
months (and after any renovation work has been
carried out) to ensure a given property
continues to meet the latest requirements.
New lighting categories
BS 5266 now stipulates the inclusion of
emergency safety lighting that allows occupants
to see their surroundings in the event of a mains
supply failure and the loss of normal lighting.
The British Standard also recommends that
procedures are put in place to determine
whether a premises needs to be evacuated
immediately in the event of a safety incident
and, if a ‘defended place’ or ‘stay-put’ solution is
agreed upon, to then direct occupants to safe
refuges. Duty holders can use risk assessments
to identify these situations and put the
necessary measures in place to address them.
While lux level guidance for escape lighting
remains the same as in previous editions of BS
5266, a host of design conditions for lux
calculations have been added to ensure lighting
remains at the minimum level required for the
duration of a potential incident. The effects of a
reduction in voltage, ageing batteries and lamps
and dirt accumulation should be accounted for.
In those areas where dangerous processes
are carried out, it’s now advised to implement
procedures to automatically shut down any
hazardous operations. Lux values of 10% of the
mains lighting level or 15 lux (whichever is the
greater) should always be adhered to.
Of equal importance is the time taken for the
emergency lighting to switch on. In high risk
areas, this period should never be more than 0.5
seconds in order to minimise the risk of harm to
building occupants.
Testing and maintenance
To ensure optimum performance and safeguard
occupants’ well-being, emergency lighting
systems should be tested and cleaned at least
once every month.
Furthermore, each luminaire must be visually
inspected no less than once each year in order
to ensure it’s in good working order and,
importantly, offering the correct lux level.
Under the new guidelines, this testing regime
should be carried out at a period of low risk, or
while the building is empty, in order to minimise
risk to occupants. Alternate luminaires should
be tested in any 24-hour period with a view to
ensuring that the building always has a charged
and fully-operational evacuation system
available to assist occupants.
Systems should also be tested for their full
rated duration to make sure that they do indeed
meet specified performance requirements.
The simplest way in which to achieve these
requirements is by incorporating a certified EN
62034 automatic testing system.
Acting on faults
BS 5266 requires that a qualified engineer
carries out corrective action whenever a failure
has been identified. It also recommends that
alternative safety procedures be put in place
until the repair is complete and the system has
been re-tested satisfactorily to ensure occupant
safety is never compromised.
Standards relating to fire detection and
emergency lighting are updated all the time,
duly reflecting the evolving safety requirements
of the built environment. It’s crucial that
installers and duty holders do all they can to
keep up with these changes in order to ensure
their premises remain legally compliant.
www.risk-uk.com