The following information is provided for guidance only,
and should not be used as a reference for legal requirements.
“Signs must be used, where necessary, to help people
identify escape routes, find firefighting equipment and emergency fire
telephones. These signs are required under the Health and Safety
(Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 and must comply with the
provisions of those regulations”
HM government guide
'fire safety risk assessment'.
The signs below are coloured as for
luminescent signs, which absorb light energy and glow in the dark.
We can supply your signs,
please visit our online store by clicking
this link
www.mfs-fire-extinguishers.co.uk
TYPES OF ESCAPE ROUTE SIGN IN GENERAL USE:
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EEC sign |
British Standard sign |
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There is confusion over which of the above designs
is correct. The answer is that both are legal, however most
authorities recommend the British Standard version as it is more widely
understood, and was recently endorsed by the International Standards
Organisation (ISO), for ISO 6309:
Fire Protection - Safety Signs.
The signs
depicted on this web site are of British Standard design, which Marsden
Fire Safety recommends.
Whichever
design is chosen, it should be consistent throughout, a mixture
of designs should not be used within the same premises.
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A third design of sign is preferred by the NHS which is
similar to the BS version, but includes flames. This sign is also well
understood, and is quite acceptable. |
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ELEMENTS of
ESCAPE ROUTE SIGNS: |
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Graphic symbol,
Front lit |
Graphic symbol,
Back lit |
Directional
Arrow |
Supplementary
Text |
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MEANING of SIGNS |
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Progress forward,
forward and through or forward and up from here |
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Progress down
from here |
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Progress to the left from here |
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Progress to the
right from here |
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Progress down to
the left |
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Progress up to
the left |
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Progress up to
the right |
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Progress down to
the right |
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USE of SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT
- Every escape route sign should include supplementary text to assist in
the understanding of the sign. |
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EXIT
- Used to indicate the conventional route leading out of a building. |
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FIRE EXIT
- Used to indicate an escape route provided specifically to be used in
the event of an evacuation. |
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EXIT for emergency
use only
- Similar to FIRE EXIT, but should not be used close to FIRE EXIT signs.
They should also be used instead of FIRE EXIT and STAFF
ONLY or PRIVATE signs together, which could cause confusion. |
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INCORRECT |
CORRECT |
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SIZE of SIGNS
"Signs should be sufficiently large and clear so that
they can be easily seen and understood"
Safety signs and Signals Regulations 1996 |
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Luminescent signs can be seen more easily than plain
signs, and can therefore generally be smaller. The following sizes are
in mm, and are for guidance only. Sizes
should be assessed on the above criteria in each individual case. |
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LOCATION of SIGNS |
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Signs
should be located in the normal field of vision, and should be
prominent, taking precedence over all other signs, ie they should not
have to ‘compete’ with other signs |
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FIXING HEIGHTS (From floor to base of sign) |
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This guidance note is available in pdf format
 In order to
view or print pdf files, Adobe Reader is required, which can be
downloaded free by clicking the link below.
Need a FIRE LOGBOOK?
Fire Safety Signs can be obtained from
www.mfs-fire-extinguishers.co.uk
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