Posted By Dan Malone
Hi Peter,

My thoughts on this is that you will need proper emergency lighting. The reason for this is that in a power outage the lights rum off batteries. Flashlights have a smaller illumination field then proper lights would have.
Have you contact a fire officer on this question. It might be the right way to go. Remember that they can issue a closure notice on the spot if they feel you are not obeying the law.

Anyone other points?

Hope this helps
Dan Malone

Posted By Geoff Parkinson
Torches may be acceptable under certain circumstances. As a local authority fire officer (now moved on) I visited a number fo premises where torches were allowed when supported by an appropriate risk assessment. Most local authority fire officers should be able to give advice/guidance :-)

Posted By J Knight
I suppose I tend to think about the workplaces I am responsible for; our workers are required to assist in evacutaion, and we have large complex ground-plans; hence my wholly negative approach. Maybe it could work for smaller places,

John

Posted By Raymond Rapp
Peter

I think it would be determined by the risks i.e. hazards and people. In my working environment with members of the public, emergency lighting would have to be a permanent fixture with a failure back up system.

Torches would only be suitable as an emergency if all else failed or to assist if necessary.

Ray

Posted By shaun mckeever
Oh yes I forgot to mention one thing. The lights are also there for the benefit of the fire service who will be entering the building after they have isolated the power.

Posted By shaun mckeever
Obviously never been a fireman then Peter!

Yes they carry torches but they also carry hoses, bretahing apparatus, cutting gear, bodies.....

Posted By Pete48
Peter
Yes but what and how comprehensive my concern would be in practice depends entirely on the detail that you clearly leave out of your posting.
Have you ever seen the use of standard torches mentioned anywhere in any relevant standards; either to support or deny their use?
But then again maybe you are merely testing a principle? Who knows?
Are there any circumstances where you would consider the provision of torches to be adequate? We could then debate your opinion for while rather than just receive your acerbic responses.

Posted By shaun mckeever
Much like emails, the intention of the writer can often be misinterpreted by the reader. I just wanted to confirm that I did not feel that the responses were acerbic, I saw it just as a bit of light hearted banter.

Posted By Brigham
Never saw you as "sharp" Peter....

Posted By John Lewis
A Fire Crew came to visit us for a look round and asked about e.lights in a temporary storage area where 4 guys worked intermittently. They took advice and were told by their boss at the station that torches were OK for a limited period until we could get proper lighting in; unless we could assure them that the building would be gone by a certain date.

The contents of the building had a low fire loading, the skin was low risk and the aisles inside were kept clear at all times. We put in torches for the period of the rental, trained our chaps on what to do in an emergency and there were no problems. The building went on the due date, it was something like 12 weeks hire.

John

Posted By Pete48
Peter, if I hurt your feelings it was not intended; however I choose not to respond to your imperative demand.
I would however like to clarify my position with regard to your question. There has been clear and simple guidance, in the UK, on this area of emergency lighting for many, many years. I have not detected any significant change in current guidance apart from the change to specific workplace guidance that places different emphasis according to risk.
As an example to demonstrate, from the offices and shops version we get
"The size and type of your premises and the risk to the occupants will determine the complexity of the emergency escape lighting required. Borrowed lighting may be suitable in small premises where the light is from a dependable source, e.g. street lamps, and it will adequately illuminate escape routes. Where borrowed lighting is not suitable, then a number of torches, in strategic positions, can be considered."
Whereas for cinemas and theatres we get
"A comprehensive system of fixed automatic escape lighting is likely to be needed in most cinemas, theatres, etc."

Sort of makes sense really and I just have this feeling that I am telling you something you already know.
If not, and you want to follow up in more detail you can try this website
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1162101 where you will find the current UK guidance.