Fire safety signage requirements

What the law asks for

The Fire Safety Order 2005 requires escape routes and exits to be indicated by signs where necessary, and the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 set the format: pictograms, prescribed colours and shapes, and consistent use throughout the premises. Green with a white pictogram means safe condition — exits and escape routes. Red means fire equipment or prohibition. Blue circles are mandatory instructions such as "Fire door keep shut". Yellow triangles are warnings.

The signs almost every premises needs

• Fire exit signs with the running man pictogram and a directional arrow, at every change of direction along the escape route and above or adjacent to each exit door.
• Final exit signage, plus signs indicating the route away from the building where the exit leads into a yard or alley.
• Fire action notice at each manual call point, stating what to do on discovering a fire, what to do on hearing the alarm, and the assembly point.
• Fire equipment identification signs above extinguishers, hose reels, blankets and call points.
• Fire door signage: "Fire door keep shut", "Fire door keep locked" for cupboards and risers, and "Automatic fire door keep clear" where hold-open devices are fitted.
• Warning and prohibition signs where relevant: no smoking, no naked flames, flammable materials, lift not to be used in fire.

Sizing and siting

Get the arithmetic right and most problems disappear. For non-illuminated and externally illuminated signs, the sign height should be at least the intended viewing distance divided by 100; for internally illuminated signs, divided by 200. Mount signs at a consistent height, generally between 2 and 2.5 metres, and use projecting or suspended signs in long corridors so they can be read along the line of travel rather than side-on. Every point on an escape route should have a sign in view or a sign at the next decision point.

Consistency matters more than perfection

Mixing older BS 5499 signs with BS EN ISO 7010 versions in the same building causes hesitation at exactly the wrong moment. If you are replacing signage, replace along whole routes rather than one sign at a time, and keep the pictogram style uniform. Text-only "FIRE EXIT" signs without a pictogram no longer meet the regulations and should be replaced when found.

Photoluminescent and illuminated signs

Escape route signage must be visible when the normal lighting fails. That is achieved either by emergency lighting illuminating conventional signs, by internally illuminated signs, or by photoluminescent signs charged by ambient light. Photoluminescent signs are inexpensive and useful, but they need adequate light to charge and fade over hours — they are a supplement to emergency lighting in most premises, not a replacement.

The failures we record most often

• A sign at the top of a stair but none at the bottom, leaving people guessing at ground level.
• Directional arrows pointing at a door that is now locked or has become a store.
• Signage obscured by hanging decorations, promotional posters or new ductwork.
• No fire action notice, or one still showing a previous occupier's assembly point.
• Missing "Fire door keep shut" signs in HMOs — a routine licensing finding.
• Extinguisher signs left in place after the extinguisher was moved.

Keeping it current

Walk the escape routes once a quarter with fresh eyes, ideally with someone who does not work in the building. Anything they hesitate over is a signage defect. Re-check after every refit, and add signage review to your fire risk assessment action list rather than treating it as decoration.