Fire evacuation solutions
Doors, signage, lighting and ventilation for safe fire evacuation procedures in the workplace
JLA Fire evacuation solutions
As an employer or ‘Responsible Person’, you have a legal obligation to identify and remove fire risks across your business. Choosing the right fire evacuation solutions – especially fire doors, lighting and signage – is critical in meeting your duty of care to protect both your people and premises.
Fire doors
A properly installed and fully maintained fire door acts as the first line of defence when it comes to ‘compartmentation’, forming a barrier to stop the spread of fire and smoke throughout your premises.
At JLA we can design and install new certified fire doors, or provide remedial fixes and upgrades to your existing doors.
Our range of fire door services includes:
- Supply and installation
- Inspection and maintenance
- Automatic door closers
- Independent door retaining magnets
- Fire alarm linked door retaining magnets
- Door signage
- Magnetic door retainers and access control
- Door furniture supply and installation
Emergency lighting
Working to the British Standard BS 5266-1: 2016, we can design, install and maintain emergency lighting to ensure your buildings remain safely lit if normal lighting fails – in line with the latest building regulations.
Our comprehensive range of lighting includes:
- Emergency lighting (both plain and decorative designs)
- Self-test lighting
- High efficiency – LED if required
- Testing for central battery powered systems
Escape route signage
Escape route signage communicates a clear evacuation route for customers and staff if a fire breaks out. From a site survey, through to escape route design and signage installation, we can help you to ensure your building’s fire evacuation signs meet the latest BS ISO 3864 ISO 7010 would be better/BS5499 standards.
AOV smoke ventilation
The main purpose of an AOV system (Automatic Opening Vent) is to aid evacuation by helping to clear lobbies, stairwells and corridors in the event of a fire through ‘smart’ smoke control which…
- Keeps escape and access routes free from smoke
- Improves visibility to facilitate firefighting operations
- Delays and/or prevents ‘flashover’ and full fire development
- Protects equipment, furnishings and contents
- Reduces effects of heat on structural components during a fire
- Reduces damage caused by thermal decomposition products and hot or harmful gases like CO2
Fire evacuation training
The Fire Safety (Employees’ Capabilities) (England) Regulations 2010 requires that any person with duties in the event of a fire is to have the required training, knowledge and experience to carry out the tasks being asked of them. Once a clear fire evacuation plan is formulated, you’ll need to provide professional fire safety training to educate and refresh on best practice processes for escaping a fire – so that everyone not only knows how to evacuate in an emergency.
Fire evacuation guidelines
Government guidance states that your fire evacuation plan must show that you have the following in place.
- A clear passageway to all escape routes
- Clearly marked escape routes that are as short and direct as possible
- Enough exits and routes for all people to escape
- Emergency doors that open easily
- Emergency lighting where needed
- Training for all employees to know and use the escape routes
- A safe meeting point for staff
You should also carry out at least one fire drill per year, recording and keeping the results as part of your fire safety and evacuation plan.
Professional maintenance and testing for escape route equipment
Once a plan is in place, it’s also vital to carry out the necessary regular checks to ensure your equipment is fit for purpose and allows staff, visitors, customers or residents to escape safely if the worst happens. At JLA we can help with consultancy, equipment installations and inspection visits to keep you safe and fully compliant.
