ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion Building Codes for Electricians Exit signs?

It has been a while since I was in office design but I also remember a limit on "dead ends". We never had more than 10 people in our space but we got beat up because we had a single egress route that was too long.

Does anyone know about altering the color of the lettering? In the theatre, those darn bright green signs can be a real eyesore... In spaces that aren't equipped with dimming signs, I've stuck in some blue diffusion gel to knock them down a bit. Eye-friendly yes, but probably frowned upon. So far, I haven't heard of any fire inspectors freaking out about them, and they come through all the time when we apply for open-flame and pyro permits.

Aren't most U.S. exit signs available in red versions as well? Or do you have a state/local law which requires green?

I'm not sure about the laws, but red might be just as bad depending on the intensity... Anyone know if there are NFPA regs that allow for nonstandard colors, or required intensity of the lettering?

I'll probably just keep using my blue gel, as I generally don't have the authority to be making changes to the building in these cases. Although, most of the time I'm servicing the signs as well, as janitorial staff (public schools) don't seem to be very apt at changing the lamps as they burn out. But usually they're more than happy to provide me with the correct lamps to do it.

Red doesn't hurt night vision like green and blue do, and allows the eyes to adjust.

As to the garage door functioning as an emergency exit... it's easy to operate them without power (pull the red cord and yank up on the door!), but clearly don't have panic bars and might not function terribly well in an actual fire with that respect.

Actually, would be fairly easy to set the spring tension on the garage door for negative pressure- EG, the door naturally will open by itself, and the opener has to work to push it DOWN. But this would still require people to think clearly and be able to work up high in the room.

... From a wheelchair?

Florida has adopted ADA virtually evewhere that isn't a dwelling unit. That is the real question. When you convert a "home" to business use do you lose the "dwelling" status? I say yes and I might even extend that to the whole "model"

Usually around here (Maryland) the local jurisdiction requires either red or green. I always have the hardest time remembering, too.

The standard for backstage lighting is blue, as it doesn't stand out against the darkness quite as much. Haven't had any problems with eye adjustment, but then again our grips are in the dark/blue light for two hours or more. Actors are another story...

Interesting how garages came into this thread.
My original idea was for Commercial buildings and the like.
As they have the most foot traffic and the most amount of people that could be affected by a fire and total loss of power to the building, save the Emergency lighting system.
However, plunge any building into darkness inside and people out of instinct want to get out, in any way they can.
We had a fire in our old picture theatre here a few years back, the Emergency lighting system failed abysmally, no one got hurt but boy was it a worry turning up there and trying to get everyone out!.
The place has since been pulled down, rightfully so I say.
BTW, this is what we call a garage fire here:

It sounds like a very complex point of law as to when private becomes public/commercial.

Same as the draconian anti-smoking laws which are being implemented here to outlaw smoking in the workplace. The rules set out as to when/if a private dwelling legally becomes a workplace are complicated, illogical, and inconsistent.