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An emergency evacuation that results in injuries and casualties can result in three negative impacts on the company that experiences it: an increase in workman's compensation insurance because of payouts; injury to its name; and perhaps most harmful of all, expensive lawsuits which will also damage its reputation. Insuring that evacuations proceed as designed in terms of evacuee behavior is never easy, yet making your building evacuation ready begins with assessing its evacuation paths and safety signage. Do the routes contain luminescent markings, and is the signage luminescent? If they are not, your work place could be a firetrap waiting to occur. Below, we take a look at the need for making your buildings emergency egress paths and safety signage luminous with photoluminescent films.

The Value of Luminescent Markings and Signage

The significance of luminescent path markings and building signage was proven with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, where bombs destroyed the buildings' backup power generators which powered its backup lighting, causing building occupants to travel vertical exit enclosures virtually in the dark, or by flashlight. In reaction to this ordeal, cities and states all over the U.S. started adopting the emergency egress safety precautions contained in the International Fire Code (IFC), which requires that luminescent route markings and safety signage be installed in egress paths inside commercial and residential R1 buildings that feature occupancy above 75 feet from the lowest level of fire truck accessibility. Modernizing Your Building's Backup Lights If your state hasn't already adopted a model of the IFC, your building's vertical exit enclosures may have backup lighting alone, a technology that has a couple of drawbacks: it might fail, and it doesn't work in the presence of smoke or dust. That's why the IFC requires the application of luminescent path markings on handrails and handrail extensions, the leading ends of steps and landings, the perimeter area of landings, potential egress path obstacles, and the door frames and door hardware of exit leading doors. These types of markings, which are available with a non-slip surface, fully outline the equipment and specifications of vertical exit enclosures, glowing brightly under all conditions.

Luminescent Coatings and Converting Safe Practices Signage In the case where your building's exit enclosures feature non-luminescent signs whose information meets IFC guidelines, you can make them luminescent by adding photoluminescent film to their surface. Exactly the same pertains to other building signs, particularly those that designate assisted rescue areas, fire extinguishers, fire hose as well as standpipe units, and signs that give building directions. When you use photoluminescent film products to define your building's egress paths making its existing signage photoluminescent, you create an interior that facilitates efficient, expedient evacuations, evacuations which protect you and your building occupants against injuries and casualties that might have longstanding consequences. During my research on photoluminescent film products, I've analyzed the value of luminescent coatings and converting for existing buildings.

About the Author:
While conducting the research for this article, I learned a lot about International Fire Code (IFC and emergency safety regulations at JessupMFG.com.