Floor Identification Signs: What are they and how they improve egress safety
Whether you are trying to make it back to the parking lot after a day of shopping or needing to get out of your apartment building in an emergency, exit signs play a vital role! These carefully placed and easy to understand signs guide us to the nearest exit, no matter the circumstance.
Exit signs, however, lack additional egress information which is critical for a safe and timely egress in emergency situations. There are several luminous egress path markings that work in unison in exit stairwells to provide a safe passage to the exit discharge.
Floor identification (FID) signs provide critical egress information to both patrons and emergency responders during an evacuation.
What is a Floor Identification Sign?
According to IFC/IBC 1023.9 FID signs are to be installed at each floor landing within an interior exit stairway. The information provided on these signs, such as floor level, terminus of top and bottom levels, the level and direction of exit discharge and designating roof access, is critical to the safe evacuation of occupants as well as providing critical information for firefighters and other emergency responders.
Code compliance states these egress path markings must be at least 18 inches by 12 inches and shall be installed 5 feet from the floor landing and must remain easily visible when the landing door is in both open and closed positions. As an additional level of safety, FID signs installed in interior exit stairways are required to be self-luminous, remaining clearly visible no matter the lighting condition. FID signs are an important luminous egress path marking that cannot be overlooked.
The Importance of FID Signs
A FID sign works in conjunction with exit signs and other luminous egress products to ensure occupants are able to safely, and quickly, navigate towards the exit discharge with confidence, as well as providing potentially lifesaving information to firefighters and other emergency first responders.
During an emergency evacuation, occupants must be able to exit the building as quickly as possible. FID signs, along with other critical code compliant luminous egress path markings, keep patrons on the right path, moving towards the exit discharge as quickly as possible. Clear, easily visible path markings, especially FID signs, takes away any second guesses and gives patrons the confidence to exit the building quickly.
For visitors who may be unfamiliar with the building, FID signs can prove to be especially important to a safe egress. The information included on these photoluminescent signs clearly indicates the pathway which occupants need to follow to make it to safety. These signs communicate to a patron where they are, and where they need to get to.
Additionally, indicating whether the stairwell provides roof access or not is important to life saving emergency protocols conducted by firefighters, and other emergency first repsonders, once they arrive on the scene.
Often brushed past or gone unnoticed, FID signs play a critical role in the safety, and efficiency of emergency egress in all buildings.
The information conveyed on these signs, backed by fail-safe photoluminescence, ensures patrons, visitors and occupants alike can quickly navigate towards the exit discharge, no matter the lighting condition.
As an important luminous egress path marking sign, Ecoglo works with you to create a totally custom FID system for your building. Each set of signs is customized to each set of stairways in your building. Our industry-leading photoluminescent technology is baked into each of these signs, providing a visibly better solution for your building!