A commercial building often has a lot of rooms and a lot of people within the rooms. This is why fire safety is paramount in commercial buildings. Among the numerous fire safety measures, you should have in place, you may also want to consider lighting in case of emergencies. Emergency lighting plays an important role as a safeguarding measure by enabling, supporting and helping with swift evacuations. But what is it?
In this blog post we look at what emergency lighting is. This will help you see why it is so important in commercial buildings like offices, shops, hotels and more.
Let’s start by look at the obvious. Commercial kitchens, faulty electrical equipment and flammable materials are some of the main ways that a fire may start and spread through a building. In the event of a fire, a quick and easy escape is key. This is where lighting can help. It provides better visibility of escape routes. This could be lifts, steps, stairs, main exit door and stairwells for example.
When there is a blackout in a property, emergency lighting will light the way to and along emergency exits. This is also the case when vision is impaired due to heavy smoke or flames for example. It’s a safety measure to help people get safely out of a building. It also helps emergency services get around a property safely.
We like to think of this safety system as a sophisticated fire safety system. It is battery-backed lights that will activate automatically when a main source of power fails or cuts out. Emergency lighting can be in various forms. For example, your emergency lighting could be downlights or signs. They could even be spotlights, for example.
Not only does this lighting guide people out of buildings safely. It also helps fire fighters and other emergency services get into and around the building safely. This can enable them to tackle the fire or rescue a person that may be trapped inside the building.
Want to know more about what emergency lighting is and how it could help your business? Call our fire safety specialists now.
