Area of Refuge Signage Requirements: Ensuring Accessible Safety

While egress paths guide general evacuation, an area of refuge provides a designated, safe location within your building for individuals needing assistance (such as the elderly or handicapped) to await first responder evacuation. Often located in fire-rated stairwells or as exterior points, these areas are crucial for inclusive safety and ADA compliance. Understanding the required area of refuge or rescue signage ensures your facility is prepared and compliant, providing vital guidance and peace of mind.

Various Area of Refuge signs at a fire exit door.

What Signs Do I Need
for an Area of Refuge?

Effective communication is paramount for safety in an emergency. To ensure your area of refuge is fully compliant and clearly marked for all occupants, you'll need specific signage as mandated by ICC and NFPA fire codes. Below, we discuss both the essential area of refuge signs and any required accompanying exit signage, ensuring clear guidance for everyone in your facility.

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(A) Area of Refuge with Braille

One necessary element to making signs tangible is making them visible, which is why it's important to install tactile area of refuge signs on your facility's walls. These ADA-compliant signs adhere to strict standards, featuring non-shiny matte finishes, raised pictograms, and Grade 2 braille to ensure accessibility. This will allow those with certain disabilities to still be able to "see" the information and know where they're going. Exterior area of refuge signs denote areas outside of a building where occupants can safely wait outside for emergency rescue. These should be mounted on the corridor side of the door, indicating that the area of refuge is outside.

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Examples of area of refuge signs with braille

(B) Exit Sign with Braille

All ADA-compliant tactile exit signs feature Grade 2 braille and are designed to clearly designate exits or egress paths. These signs indicate that an occupant is headed toward an exit to leave the building. Multiple layouts are available, including those pointing out a stairwell is also behind the door. Tactile exit signs should be mounted on the latch-side of each door that leads to an interior stairwell or exit.

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(C) Overhead Exit Sign

During emergencies, a power outage could further impede a building's occupants from safely making their way through and out of the building. Photoluminescent Overhead Exit signs ensure that an emergency egress path illuminated, regardless of external power sources. Our line of self-illuminating exit signs charge via natural or artificial light, keeping hallways lit without any electricity or batteries. This way, your building's occupants will never be left in the dark, especially during an emergency.

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Examples of photoluminescent area of refuge signs

(D) Photoluminescent Area of Refuge

EvacuationPlans.com offers Photoluminescent Area of Refuge signs, a crucial safety feature during power outages. These signs glow in the dark, illuminating the way to safety. All adhere to ADA specifications, including specific color contrast and font requirements for maximum visibility and compliance.

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(E) Area of Refuge Instructions

Given that guests and even some staff in your facility might be unfamiliar with areas of refuge, it's a requirement to have instructions readily available. Our customizable area of refuge instruction signs clearly state what occupants should do next, including contacting emergency operators and what to do until personnel arrive. We offer designs specific to your floor layouts, crucial for NYC compliance.

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Example of an area of refuge instructions sign

(F) Handicap Accessible Directional

Accessible exits are vital for inclusivity. Identifying these integral areas with handicap accessible directional signs is paramount. These signs state where the nearest accessible exits, entrances, restrooms, and especially areas of refuge are located, guiding those with special mobility needs to safety. They should be placed in a logical and prominent location to promote immediate action and prevent backtracking.

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(G) Fire Door Keep Closed Sign

Fire doors are meant to prevent raging flames from reaching further into a building, as they're designed to reduce the speed that fire and smoke travels between areas. In order for them to work, they must remain closed, lest they open up and allow flames to escape. For this reason, it's imperative to install "Fire Door Keep Closed" signs on them, as they remind occupants not to prop them open. Another version of these signs state "Fire Door - Do Not Block," which are for fire doors that close automatically. Since they activate whenever the fire alarm is set off, they shouldn't be blocked so as to keep them working properly.

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(H) Low-Level Egress Signs

During an emergency, people may be scrambling to leave your facility, only to find that the power has gone out. Photoluminescent egress signs are here to assist! Often marked by a green running man symbol, each green exit arrow signage points to the location of the closest emergency exit. Install no more than 18" above the floor so that they are still visible in the event of smoke, allowing those crawling on the floor to locate the nearest exit.

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Still have questions about fire code compliance or your facility's specific area of refuge signage needs? Our ADA signage experts are here to help. Benefit from our free SignSpec© quoting service for outfitting your entire facility with new fire-code compliant signage. Contact our compliance experts or call us directly at 1.833.917.1131 for prompt assistance.