nfpa101 7.8.1.4 egress lighting

[shaun m rice]

I recently had a state inspector on an annual inspection of a county nursing home cite this code and say that the non- em 120 volt lights ( 70 watt hid fixtures for normal outside a door lighting) had to have 2 lamps . These are just lighting for outside the door. The code says failure of a single lighting unit cannot result in an illumination of less than .2 ft-candles in a designated area. I have heard of this for battery backup em egress lighting but never for 120 volt regular egress lighting . This is a very old nursing home and this inspector has inspected many times . He also says a remote annunciator for the backup generator must be installed at the 24 hour nursing station . I know some codes come out and do not need a trigger to apply them retroactively , has anyone heard of anything like this there must be at least 18 doors and the nurses station is literally 400 to 500 feet away.

 

[LIM]

Any chance the outdoor lights are egress lights? Possibly on LS branch of a generator circuit?

The remote annunciator piece comes from NFPA 110 5.6.6.

He is probably inspecting based on CMS's newly adopted 2012 NFPA 101 LSC. Nursing homes that recieve reimbursement from the government are required to meet this code and it's referenced codes.

 

[steve66]

If the exterior lights aren't on an emergency circuit, there should be some type emergency light outside that door with 2 lamps.

And if the emergency lights need to have 2 lamps, it only makes sense that the normal lights would need the same. After all, 99% of the time the exterior landing will only be lit by the normal lighting.

 

[luckylerado]

Install LED. Lots of tiny little lamps on an LED strip...