Should green break glass door overides be 'signed'???

[Jim Creak]

To satisfy the management of health and safety regulations  including fire safety it is a requirement to inform, identify , locate, instruct and educate.. Appropriate use of safety signs are one way to satisfy these requirements and resolve liability.. It is for the Responsible Person to assess the risk of not using signs as a minimum requirement..... The responsible person can always manage this problem another way... Why have these types of doors?? Why are we securing fire exits?? Why not tell everyone where they are and what they are for? Formal training etc etc.

Break Glass Units are not always sited in exactly obvious and conspicuous positions... I have noticed the proliferation of these devices for purely security reasons that have an ordinary override switch as well as an emergency glass operating system, I have noticed Break Glass Units for Disability Assistance and Emergency call location.  Each case will be different, however there is a correct graphical symbol for emergency call point so if you feel it is appropriate to inform, identify, locate, instruct, and educate this safety sign may be used with appropriate supplementary text and will be deemed to satisfy the minimum requirements.

You should not blame the number of signs that are required as this is an indication of the amount of information you need to understand this particular buildings escape strategy...To reduce the number of signs question the strategy.

[CivvyFSO]

kurnal - thanks for your comments.  All the exits also have FA BGUs of course, installed when the building opened about 15 years ago, but these are also unsigned as are the 'Green Boxes'. I assume (hope!) that the locks are linked to the FA system. All the doors have had security alarms on them for some years also. I hope too that there is a means of releasing all exit doors for use for the non-fire emergencies you mention.

What concerns me is that without signage a parent with a young family who sees a fire may try and get out of the building with the youngsters without attempting to raise the alarm and finds they cannot do so. I have noticed from past experiences that even in an obvious emergency there is still reluctance by members of the public (or even staff) to operate BGUs.

And if faced with a choice of BGUs are they going to get even more confused and reluctant to raise an alarm and so get out?

It does seem to me that some additional signage to encourage sounding of the FA (and so releasing the lock on the exit doors) is required in this situation.

I have had one similar recently - Accepted by building control, the only way out of the fire exit is by; A: The fire alarm activating, or B: A key-fob that staff have. Not even a green override. From the fire point of view, not ideal, but "ok" because the building is well detected, from the other points of view mentioned here (non-fire emergencies/panic), extremely bad.

[CivvyFSO]

Surely common sense should prevail when installing FS signing:

I would hope that 90% of the public would recognise a red BGU and know what it's for. Does it need a sign?

For the other 10% ?

[Redone]

In a building today has red, green, yellow, and blue boxes...

[kurnal]

Now that is a shame. All the European safety colours being abused I guess.

Red- something you must not do
Green- a safe condition
Blue- something you must do
Yellow-hazard, danger

What was the blue one for?

[Redone]

The blue one was to be used to alert staff if a resident prone to going walk about did just that...

Now the yellow one, no-one on site had a clue why it was there!

[messy]

Could it have been a manual override for a auto-venting system (staircase??)?

[kurnal]

Does anybody have a view on the signs on red break glass call points?
Many are still being fitted with the word FIRE on the call point rather than the graphic symbol of flames. I realise that this means it does not comply with the relevant part of EN54 but does it really matter in a brand new sstem? Would anybody ask for it to be changed?

[AnthonyB]

No, but if it said fire I'd have to consider the 'call point' safety sign adjacent as well as an action sign - if it had the flame id negate the additional call point sign and stick with just an action notice

[Graeme]

http://www.kac.co.uk/final/PDF/2006/Mark_Guide/FM-COL-1.pdf

[David Rooney]

No, but if it said fire I'd have to consider the 'call point' safety sign adjacent as well as an action sign - if it had the flame id negate the additional call point sign and stick with just an action notice

Surely the action notice should be pictoral to match all the rest of our EN compliant signs!!

Seems a bit discriminatory to me.

"Yes me lud I broke the red glass cos it i saw the picture of a house on fire but I didn't leave the building cos there was no picture on the action notice so i half burnt to death"

Can i get on one of those quangos please, along with Rolf Harris.

[AnthonyB]

Aha - fire action notices are available that are pictorial now (& have been for years)- sadly enough people still bang up the ones that are loads of copious text only....