New technologies may shed light on emergency egress

By Jim Crawford

Chalk it up to a grown man’s inner child, but my enthusiasm for new technologies is as strong as it ever was. Unfortunately, though, I think we’re all in the same boat: busy as the dickens and hardly able to handle our current workload, let alone search out new products and technologies. Still, every once in a while I catch wind of new products I figure are worth mentioning in my column. And in this particular case, I got lucky — one of our deputies, Kylie Jackson, brought a couple to my attention.

Egress in a fire situation has always been one of our fire- and life-safety priorities, for good reason. Two new products, LiteGuide and SARGENT’s SARGuide, may provide a better means of marking exits and clearing buildings during a fire or other incident. Both products use electro-luminescent materials to draw supplemental attention to exits and doors.

The LiteGuide is an actual doorframe that provides a glow-in-the-dark feature for the entire outline of the exit. In my opinion, it’s more attention-getting than the exit sign alone. And when combined with an additional sign at the base of the doorframe, it makes an attractive package. LiteGuide has also created materials that are set along the exit path and highlight the entire way, much the same way as in airplanes, except without any external power source. For more information and visuals that provide an idea of how the products would work in a fire, visit www.liteguide.com.

The SARGuide system offers push-bar hardware with the word “exit” embedded in the frame, lending additional visibility with similar electro-luminescent technology. Designed to supplement building exit signs required by code, SARGuide is UL-listed for use with panic- and fire-rated exit devices (UL 305 and UL 10C). For more information, visit www.sargentlock.com.

THE GOOD … & THE REALITY
When I think of past discussions about exiting problems, anecdotal evidence suggests that people cannot see elevated exit lights because of smoke. So, I think additional features that draw attention to the exits are a good idea. I also continue to reflect on the fact that during the Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., which took the lives of 100 people and injured more than 200 on Feb. 20, 2003, most people tried to use the same exit through which they entered. Although we can’t say for sure, additional attentiongetting features guiding people to other exits might have saved lives in that tragedy. These products offer to do just that. This is the good news.

So what’s the bad news? Well, it isn’t really bad, but we do need to pay attention. I can remember a very heated debate at a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) hearing where electro-luminescent technology was trashed by an industry competitor. On some level, this is actually one of the benefits of the NFPA’s system: One proprietor can usually spot another “blowing smoke,” so to speak. Regrettably, they can also try to erect obstacles to new technologies in order to eliminate competition.

I am not saying that’s the case here, but I mention it because we must always be cautious about embracing or rejecting new technologies. We can’t, however, afford to wait so long for some overseeing body’s endorsement that people who might otherwise have benefited become victims in the meantime. Rather than wait, we might spend some more time investigating for ourselves.

IN SUM
The continuing message of this column when I highlight new technologies: I think we can do a better job of keeping our eyes open, and communicating new ideas—technological or otherwise—that might improve public safety. You, like me, might be lucky enough to have some bright co-workers who know more than you do!

I’m not saying we must always mandate new technologies — we should try to educate people first — but either way, as fire professionals, we might surf around a bit for technologies and ideas that can make people safer. By sharing what we find, we can pool our resources and draw from others’ professional experiences. Perhaps we’ll identify even better exiting solutions as part of the discussion — and help save some lives in the process.

Jim Crawford is a fire marshal with the Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department and is chair of the NFPA technical committee on professional qualifications for fire marshals. He has written “Fire Prevention: A Comprehensive Approach,” published by Brady, and has also written a chapter on fire prevention in “Managing Fire and Rescue Services,” published by the International City/County Managers Association. Crawford is a past president of the International Fire Marshals Association and has served on the NFPA’s Standards Council.