Successful evacuation from a structure fire requires that egress paths be easy to find and follow without confusion or hesitation. It's impossible to predict how much time there is for evacuation, and the ability to identify an egress route literally can mean the difference between life and death, as at The Station nightclub fire in 2003.

Over the last two decades significant requirements for marking the egress path at floor proximity have evolved. Sept. 11, 2001, further emphasized the need for additional methods for marking the egress paths in buildings. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster made 30 recommendations, one of which was that egress systems should have consistent layouts with standard signage and guidance so that the systems are intuitive and obvious to all building occupants, including visitors, during evacuations. Particular consideration, the report said, should be given to unexpected deviations in the stairwells, such as floors with transfer hallways. As a result, the Pentagon has added egress markings at floor proximity, as has the United Nations in its corridors and stairs.

Local law

The New York City Department of Buildings World Trade Center Building Code Task Force also made recommendations regarding egress markings, particularly that they “improve marking of the egress path, doors and stairs with photoluminescent materials and retrofit existing exit signs with either battery or generator backup power.” In response, New York City passed Local Law 26, which mandates additional egress markings at all doors opening to a corridor, an exit or to an exit passageway and within exit stairs, horizontal extensions to exit stairs, horizontal exits, supplemental vertical exits and exit passageways.

These changes were considered so important that the city decided to apply them not only to new-construction high-rise buildings but to all existing ones as well. The city specified photoluminescent technology because it is able to function during loss of both normal and emergency lighting without batteries or emergency generators. Presently, the International Code Council and NFPA are reviewing code proposals similar to New York City's.

Initiatives are popping up in other parts of the country. The latest regulations being adopted by the California State Fire Marshal are based in part on the 2006 International Building Code, which requires that exits and exit access doors be marked by an approved exit sign readily visible from any direction of egress travel. Readily visible exit signs should mark access to exits where the exit or the path of egress travel is not immediately visible. Placement should be such that no point in a corridor is farther than 100 feet or the listed viewing distance, whichever is less, from the nearest visible exit sign. Additionally, a tactile exit sign that complies with ICC A117.1 is required adjacent to each door to an egress stairway, exit passageway and exit discharge.

Recently, Connecticut passed a law that requires the state building inspector and the state fire marshal, in conjunction with the Codes and Standards Committee, to make amendments to the state building code and the state fire safety code concerning floor-proximity path-marking or related devices. The amendments require that a path-marking system be installed within 18 inches of the floor; provide a visible delineation of the path of travel along the designated exit access; and be essentially continuous, except as interrupted by doorways, hallways, corridors or other such architectural features.

The amendments provide what materials may be used for path marking, including electrical, photoluminescent or self-luminous material. The amendments require installation of a path-marking system in new construction of occupancies with more than 300 people, medical occupancies, hotels and motels, and dormitories, among others.

Building officials

State and local laws usually determine the officer or other designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of the building and fire code. While the code refers to this person as the “building official,” it can either be the head of the building department or the fire chief as stipulated by law. The term “building official” as used in the code should not be confused with the civil service job title of building official in the building department.

Typically, enforcement for exit signs is done in three phases. The first phase is the plan review. Plans and specifications must show code compliance by identifying the location of all exit signs with proper directional indicators as appropriate. Specifications should include technical data sheets and the manufacturer's installation instructions.

This is where the plan reviewer makes several key decisions to approve or not approve the exit signs and their placement. For example, if the exit sign is an internally illuminated sign, is it listed in accordance with UL 924? (See “Exit Sign Technologies & UL 294,” above.) Is the exit sign appropriate for a movie theater, installation at floor proximity or in an explosive atmosphere? Is it rated for outdoors? Does the type of occupancy require the placement of additional exit signs at floor level so they can be visible under the smoke in the event of a fire?

Fire chiefs and building officials who determine that additional exit markings located at floor proximity are necessary in certain occupancies should convey this to the plan review department. In most cases, a local ordinance or change to the building code are not required as the building official has the authority to render interpretations of the code and to adopt policies and procedures to clarify the application of its provisions. In fact, jurisdictions should be interpreting the code to require that exit signs and other path markings be visible and legible in both fire and non-fire conditions.

Floor proximity egress path markings also should be seriously considered, as people need continuous visual guidance along the egress path between the exit signs. This is especially true in a fire where vision below the smoke can be limited to 12 feet or less. Traveling down a smoky corridor without seeing an egress path marking can cause confusion and hesitation in someone who is already stressed and desperate to find the exits.

Distance between exit signs also must be reviewed to verify that no point in a corridor is more than 100 feet or the listed viewing distance for the sign, whichever is less, from the nearest visible exit sign.

Post-construction inspections

The second phase of enforcement is done during final construction inspection to verify that exit signs at exits and exit access doors are, in fact, readily visible from any direction of egress travel. Readily visible exit signs also must mark exit access where the exit or the path of egress travel is not immediately visible to the occupants. When in doubt, err on the side of safety. There must be no confusion or hesitation as to which way to go to exit the building. If you aren't sure, the public won't be.

NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, requires that the bottom of new egress markings be located at a vertical distance of not more than 6 feet, 8 inches above the top edge of the egress opening intended for designation by that marking. Egress markings should be located at a horizontal distance of no more than the required width of the egress opening, as measured from the edge of the egress opening intended for designation by that marking to the nearest edge of the marking.

Periodic inspections after construction are no less important than the other phases because they allow the fire department to ensure that every exit sign is properly maintained and fully operational during the lifetime of the building. The number-one reason for failed exit signs failure to perform simple maintenance such as checking for and replacing burnt-out bulbs and ensuring that exit signs with expiration dates aren't expired.

The fire department may require that building owners keep a list of expiration dates for any radioluminescent exit signs they may have so the fire department can ensure that these signs are being replaced in a timely manner. If the fire department encounters continued failure by a building owner to maintain the bulbs in exit signs, it can require that signs be replaced with non-electrical exit signs that have no bulbs.

The most important factor for the future is that we standardize egress markings worldwide so that travelers will know how to find the exits quickly and unerringly, no matter what country they are in.

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Manny Muniz is the president of Manny Muniz Associates LLC. He is retired from the Sacramento Fire Department where he was the EMS coordinator, and from the Office of the California State Fire Marshal, where he was the regulations coordinator. Muniz is a member of the UL 924 and UL 1994 Standards Technical Panels, several ASTM committees, and is a member of the Uniform Fire Code Association Interpretations Committee. He can be reached at manny@mannymuniz.com.

Exit Sign Technologies & ul 294

There are six exit sign technologies that are tested and listed to UL 924, Emergency Lighting and Power Equipment. They are incandescent, fluorescent, electroluminescent, photoluminescent, radioluminescent and light-emitting diode, and all are categorized as being internally illuminated exit signs.

Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses. Some are brighter than others. Some have bulbs and some don't. Some are powered by electricity and some are not. All must pass UL test protocols that ensure that all UL 924-listed exit signs are both visible and legible at their rated viewing distance for a minimum of 90 minutes in case of primary power loss. UL 924 does not, however, test or list exit signs for visibility through smoke.

UL is now in the process of reviewing proposed changes to the ninth edition of this exit sign standard. Suggested changes include that listing agencies, such as UL and ETL, make readily available on their Web sites the exit sign manufacturer's name, listed model numbers, and rated viewing distance for each model.