Emergency Lighting Requirements

Exit and Emergency Lighting is found in nearly every commercial building in some shape or form, but is it required?

Typically, we see buildings renovated and the Exit and Emergency Lighting is left to electricians to install and unfortunately in most cases they simply guess the locations where the exit and Emergency Lights are required.

To install Exit and Emergency Lighting correctly in any area of a building, a design including complex calculations should be undertaken to ensure the correct locations of the exit and emergency lights and the required lux (illumination Levels) at the floor level are achieved.

  1. In every fire-isolated stairway, fire-isolated ramp, or fire-isolated passageway; and
  2. In every storey of a Class 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 building where the storey has a floor area more than 300 m2.
  3. In every passageway, corridor, hallway, or the like, that is part of the path of travel to an exit; and
  4. In any room having a floor area more than 100 m2 that does not open to a corridor or space that has Emergency Lighting or to a road or open space; and
  5. In any room having a floor area more than 300 m2; and
  6. In every passageway, corridor, hallway, or the like, having a length of more than 6 m from the entrance doorway of any sole-occupancy unit in a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building to the nearest doorway opening directly to:
    1. A fire-isolated stairway, fire-isolated ramp, or fire-isolated passageway; or
    2. An external stairway serving instead of a fire-isolated stairway under D1.8; or
    3. an external balcony leading to a fire-isolated stairway, fire-isolated ramp, or fire-isolated passageway; or
    4. A road or open space; and
    5. In every required non-fire-isolated stairway; and
  7. In a sole-occupancy unit in a Class 5, 6 or 9 building if:
    1. The floor area of the unit is more than 300 m2; and
    2. An exit from the unit does not open to a road or open space or to an external stairway, passageway, balcony, or ramp, leading directly to a road or open space; and
  8. In every room or space to which there is public access in every storey in a Class 6 or 9b building if:
    1. The floor area in that storey is more than 300 m2; or
    2. Any point on the floor of that storey is more than 20 m from the nearest doorway leading directly to a stairway, ramp, passageway, road, or open space: or
    3. Egress from that storey involves a vertical rise within the building of more than 1.5 m, or any vertical rise if the storey concerned does not admit sufficient light: or,
    4. The storey provides a path of travel from any other storey required by (i), (ii) or (iii) above, to have Emergency Lighting; and
  9. In a Class 9a health-care building:
    1. In every passageway, corridor, hallway, or the like, serving a treatment area or a ward area; and
    2. In every room having a floor area of more than 120 m2 in a patient care area; and
    3. In every Class 9c aged care building excluding within sole-occupancy units; and
    4. In every required fire control centre.

FCF Fire & Electrical are qualified to design, certify Exit and Emergency Lighting. FCF Fire and Electrical Fire Technicians are also qualified and licenced electricians who know what type of light is required and where it should be installed to meet the Emergency Lighting Requirements.