How To Improve Fire Escape Accessibility in Older Buildings

When managing older buildings, balancing charm with modern performance is an ongoing challenge. If your property has aging fire escapes, maintaining their functionality and appearance may encompass giving special attention to making sure tenants can easily access them.

Many older structures were designed long before current safety regulations, which means their egress routes may fail to meet modern standards. As a building owner, you have a responsibility to ensure these life-saving features are effective and easy to use. Need to know how to improve fire escape accessibility in older buildings? Explore practical strategies, focusing on visibility, condition, and compliance.

Enhancing Fire Escape Visibility

Many older buildings suffer from insufficient signage and poor lighting when it comes to fire escape routes. Here’s how to address this issue:

Upgrade Signage

Fire escape signage should be prominent, clear, and conform to modern safety standards. Some older properties feature signs that are small, faded, or poorly located, making it difficult for occupants to find their way out quickly during an emergency. Correct this by taking the following steps:

Install illuminated energy-efficient exit signs that are visible even in low visibility conditions like smoke-filled hallways or poorly lit staircases.

Include directional cues on signage, such as arrows pointing toward fire escapes, which is especially vital if your building has complex layouts that could confuse occupants during emergencies.

Display multilingual signs that include clear symbols along with the words if your building serves a diverse community to ensure universal comprehension.

Improve Emergency Lighting

Lighting is just as critical as signage. Emergency exits and pathways often become invisible in the absence of proper illumination, especially during power outages or nighttime evacuations.

Install photoluminescent strips along floors, staircases, and door frames to guide occupants toward exits. These glow-in-the-dark features are easy to install and require no electricity.

Maintain backup lighting systems powered by batteries or generators to ensure illumination is available during blackouts.

Incorporate motion-activated or always-on lighting near fire escapes and paths leading to them. Enough lighting will help reduce disorientation and panic during emergencies.

By combining effective signage and adequate lighting, you dramatically improve your building’s fire escape visibility.

Simplifying Usability of Fire Escapes

Even when fire escapes are visible, they may not be easy to use, particularly in older buildings where designs may not align with current accessibility needs. Property managers should focus on usability to ensure optimal safety.

Ensure Pathways Are Clear of Obstructions

Over time, fire escape routes and stairwells can become cluttered with forgotten furniture, boxes, or other obstacles. It’s essential to implement strict policies and regular inspections to keep these pathways unobstructed.

Conduct routine checks of fire escape routes to ensure they remain clear.

Post visible reminders or notices warning against blocking pathways.

Partner with tenants to educate them on the importance of keeping exit areas clear.

Upgrade Hardware

Older fire escape doors and stairs may have design flaws that make them cumbersome to use. Rusted hardware, hard-to-operate latches, or unsteady railings can hinder evacuation efforts.

Install push-bar door mechanisms on exit doors to allow for quick, one-handed operation in emergencies.

Replace deteriorating metal staircases or balconies with modern, robust materials like galvanized steel.

Replace old or worn railings with secure, ergonomic designs that can easily support an emergency rush.

Maintenance Is Key

Even if your building is decades old, modern safety codes ensure higher levels of protection for occupants. Likewise, consider that even the best-designed fire escape systems—no matter the era of their construction—can fall short without regular upkeep.

Older buildings require ongoing maintenance to ensure their fire escape routes remain effective. Partner with a certified fire safety consultant to evaluate how your building measures up to current codes, identifying problems like escape paths that are too narrow for several people to use simultaneously or outdated materials.

Assess Wear and Tear

Aging materials like wood, metal, and concrete commonly found in older buildings may degrade over time. Rusted railings, rotting steps, or crumbling pathways are hazards that can make fire escapes dangerous. Manage the following maintenance tasks:

Treat steel surfaces with anti-corrosion coatings to reduce rust accumulation.

Reinforce load bearing supports to handle large crowds during evacuations.

Replace any damaged steps, railings, or platforms immediately to avoid liability and hindrances in emergencies.

Don’t tackle such a tall order yourself, as errors in your attempts to patch up a fire escape could make matters worse. Instead, assign regular inspections and fixes to certified professionals who can expertly assess structural integrity and complete repairs or replacements.

The reliable, knowledgeable, and licensed team of engineers and welders at Maximum Fire Escapes are well-versed on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes with which your building should comply. With years of experience working with steel structures, our comprehensive fire escape replacement, repair, and inspection services will certify that your fire escapes are safe enough to work in emergencies and meet safety standards.

Keep Records of Updates

To stay on top of compliance, maintain detailed records of all improvements, inspections, and upgrades to your fire escape systems. Maximum Fire Escapes provides detailed inspection reports of the work we do. You can use this documentation to keep track of the upgrades completed, which can be helpful during audits and for reassuring tenants that their safety is a priority.

Keep Alarms and Detection Systems Functional

An essential aspect of fire escape functionality lies in how effectively your alarm system works. Even seemingly small errors—such as a malfunctioning smoke detector—can make escape efforts chaotic.

Be sure to test alarms monthly to verify they work. Update any outdated alarm components with modern, interconnected systems for greater coverage.

Pro Tip

Make repairs a priority if your fire alarm system shows signs of wear or malfunction.

Boost Building Awareness Among Occupants

Ultimately, a building’s fire escape system only works when occupants know how to use it. This is especially true in older buildings, where layouts can often be confusing. Educate your tenants and stakeholders by taking the following actions:

Host annual fire safety workshops to guide occupants on evacuation routes and procedures.

Provide a clear printed or digital escape route map for new tenants when they move in.

Conduct scheduled evacuation drills to familiarize everyone with the fire escape system.

These efforts build trust and confidence in your fire safety measures while ensuring swift, coordinated evacuations during actual emergencies.

A Safe Building Is a Valued Building

When you know how to improve fire escape accessibility in older buildings and invest in necessary upgrades, you enhance occupant safety and preserve the value and appeal of your property. Remember, safety is an active commitment—regular inspections, modernizations, and education are key to ensuring that commitment holds strong over time. By addressing these areas, your older building can remain historically charming and appropriately safe.