Fire exits should be strategically located, with an outward opening door that has a crash bar and outward leading signs on it. Knowing where to find the emergency exits in a building that you frequent can save your life. Inward opening, rotating and sliding doors are unacceptable for use as fire exits, as they might need to be fixed open using a latch or chain if the door is needed as an exit route.

One exit is satisfactory for buildings where no more than 60 people work, as long as that the building is on the ground floor level only. The outsides of fire exits need to be kept clear and marked with a suitable keep clear sign. Whenever the building is in use, the exits should be well lit by normal mains lighting. Once your workplace follows a course of scheduled assessment, unsafe conditions can be recognized and corrected before they cause serious injuries.

Learn the location of fire escape routes and how to set off the fire alarm. It might be necessary to make available “refuge points” for disabled or elderly persons to wait for assistance in some larger buildings. You should also remember staircase exits, since elevators may not function during a fire, or may expose passengers to gas, heat or smoke.

It is important that there be sufficient and adequate fire exits so that people can safely and swiftly leave the building without being put in any danger should there be an outbreak of fire. The combined use of ordinary and special fire exits allows for quicker mass departure, while it also gives another option if the route to the usual exit is blocked by fire, etc.

The number of people who could potentially use the exit, together with several other factors, will decide the amount of fire exits used in any situation. Fire exits should be spread around the building so ensuring that people can reach a safe exit route. Fire exit routes must be kept clear at all times. Fire protection measures can include the installation of fire doors, a common sight in larger buildings.

At every safety meeting every supervisor should ask three questions of their employees:

1. Do you know the evacuation plan for your office?
   
2. What are the emergency phone numbers for
   a) The fire brigade
   b) The ambulance
   c) The police
   
3. Can you use a fire extinguisher?

Fire Exit Signs

It is a requirement in many countries that all new commercial buildings include well-marked emergency exits. Well-designed emergency exit signs are necessary for these exits to be effective. Under the Health and Safety Regulations 1996, signs in the United Kingdom are required to bear a picture or symbol that clearly illustrate their message. Office buildings often have floor plans on display with exit paths shown in red and regular hallways in black.

Due to smoke or failure of electrical lighting, visibility may be reduced in a fire, and so exit signs are often permanently illuminated, usually by one of:

• Radioluminescence, also known as “traser”
  
• Phosphorescence, or glow in the dark, where light is absorbed from the surroundings and slowly re-emitted
  
• Electric light, with a local rechargeable power source
  
• Electric light, with the building’s emergency lighting circuits providing backup power from a UPS and/or generator in case power is lost

Every workplace has a commitment to its staff, customers, contractors and visitors to provide safe egress in the event of a fire, with a combination of training, good signage and proper fire exits. Fire exit routes should not be obstructed, reduced or otherwise encumbered with any object or equipment. All fire exits should be useable without keys, access cards, or specialised knowledge.