Fire Exit Signs
Make sure to pay attention to the Fire Exit Sign codes for your local area.
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and Marking of Means of Egress - Knowing where the emergency exits are in buildings you frequent can save your life. Means of egress shall be marked in accordance with this section where required. Fire exits shall be marked by approved sign readily visible from any direction of Fire exit access.
Exception - Main exterior exit doors that obviously and clearly are identifiable exits. Access to exits shall be marked by approved readily visible signs in all cases where the exit or way to reach it is not readily apparent to the occupants. Signs placement shall be such that no point in the exit access is more than 100 ft (30m) from the nearest visible sign. Fire Exit signs shall be placed near the floor level in addition to those signs required for doors or corridors. The bottom of the fire exit sign shall be not less than 6 in. (15.2 cm) or more than 8 in. (20.3 cm) above the floor. For exit doors, the fire exit sign shall be mounted on the door or adjacent to the door with the closest edge of the sign within 4 in. (10.2 cm) of the door frame.
The size of a Every fire exit sign must have the word EXIT or other appropriate wording in plainly legible letters not less than 6 in. (15.2 cm) high with the principal strokes of letters not less than 3/4 in. (1.9 cm) wide. The word EXIT shall have letters of a width not less than 2 in. (5cm) accept the letter "I", and the minimum spacing between letters shall be not less than 3/8 in. (1 cm). Fire exit signs larger than the minimum established in this paragraph shall have letter widths, strokes, and spacing in proportion to their height.
Every fire exit sign shall be suitably illuminated by a reliable light source. Externally and internally illuminated fire exit signs shall be visible both the normal and emergency lighting mode. Externally illuminated fire exit signs shall be illuminated by not less than 5 foot-candles and shall employ a contrast ratio of not less than 0.5.
Approved self-luminous-tritium or photoluminescent exit signs that provide evenly illuminated letters shall have a minimum luminance of 006 foot-lambert (021 cd/sq m) ss measured by a color-corrected photometer. The directional indicator shall be located outside of the EXIT legend, not less than 3/8 in. (1 cm) from any letter, and may be integral to or separate from the sign body. The directional indicator shall be of a chevron/ arrow and shall be identifiable as a directional indicator at a minimum distance of 100 ft (30m) under all space illumination conditions. The directional indicators shall not be located at the end of the fire exit sign opposite the direction indicated.
|
