Editing Emergency exit (section)

==Buildings==
[[File:Fire Escape stairs.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[fire escape]] is a type of external emergency exit]]
Local [[building code]]s or building regulations often dictate the number of fire exits required for a building of a given size, including the number of [[stairwell]]s. For any buildings bigger than a private house, modern codes invariably specify at least two sets of stairs, completely isolated from each other so that if one becomes impassable due to smoke or flames, the other remains usable. 

The traditional way to satisfy this requirement was to construct two separate stairwell stacks, each occupying its own footprint within each floorplan. Each stairwell is internally configured into an arrangement often called a "U-return" or "return" design.<ref name="Wood">{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Clayton |title=The Ups and Downs of Understanding High-Rise Stairwells - The Massey System is Referenced in Fire Engineering Magazine |url=https://www.disasterplanning.com/the-ups-and-downs-of-understanding-high-rise-stairwells-the-massey-system-is-referenced-in-fire-engineering-magazine |website=Massey Emergency Management |publisher=Massey Enterprises Inc |access-date=2023-03-28 |date=14 January 2021}}</ref> The two stairwells may be constructed next to each other, separated by a fireproof partition, or optionally the two stairwells may be located at some distance from each other within the floorplan. The traditional arrangement has the advantage of being easily understood by building occupants and occasional visitors.<ref name="Wood"/>

Some architects save space while still meeting the exit requirement, by housing two stairwells in a "[[Double helix (geometry)|double helix]]" or "scissors stairs" configuration whereby two stairwells occupy the same floor footprint, but are intertwined while being separated by fireproof partitions along their entire run.<ref name="Wood"/> However, this design deposits anybody descending the stack into alternating locations on each successive floor, and this can be very disorienting.<ref name="Wood"/> Some building codes recommend using a color-coded stripe and signage to distinguish otherwise identical-looking stairwells from each other, and to make following a quick exit path easier.

In older buildings that predate modern fire codes, and which lack space for a second stairwell, having intertwining stairs so close to each other may not allow firefighters going up and evacuees going down to use separate stairways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-statue-of-liberty-to-get-new-staircase-for-safety-2010aug09-story.html|title=Statue of Liberty to get new staircase for safety|first=Colleen|last=Long| publisher=Associated Press|date=9 August 2010}}</ref> 

For example, [[Westfield Stratford City]] uses a scissors stairway configuration in its upper car park. This part of the building has eight storeys: LG, G, and 1 are part of the shopping centre; 2 has some offices and a storage area; CP1, CP2, CP3, and CP4 are a [[multi-storey car park]]. The floors are served by the main public lifts and escalators, and by 1 set of a double-helix stairway and lift per {{convert|1000|m2}}, going into the service areas. The main public escalators do not count as fire exits, as the doors may be locked during less busy periods. The building has one fire exit per {{convert|4000|m2}} of floor space.

Knowing the location of emergency exits in buildings can save lives. Some buildings, such as schools, have [[fire drill]]s to practice using emergency exits. Many [[List of historic fires|disasters]] could have been prevented if people had known where fire escapes were and if emergency exits had not been blocked. For example, in the [[September 11, 2001, attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], some of the emergency exits inside the building were inaccessible, while others were locked. In the [[Stardust Disaster]] and the [[2006 Moscow hospital fire]], the emergency exits were locked and most windows barred shut. In the case of the [[The Station nightclub fire|Station Nightclub]], the premises were over capacity the night fire broke out, the front exit was not designed well (right outside the door, the concrete approach split 90 degrees and a railing ran along the edge), and an emergency exit swung inward, not outward as code requires.

In many countries, it is required that all new commercial buildings include well-marked emergency exits. Some older buildings must be retrofitted with [[fire escape]]s. In countries where emergency exits are not standard, or the standards are not enforced, fires will often result in a much greater loss of life.

===Signage===
{{Main|Exit sign}}
[[File:Evac chair.jpg|thumb|upright|Sign for an emergency down stairs evacuation device for disabled people]]The UK Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 define a fire safety sign as an illuminated sign or acoustic signal that provides information on escape routes and emergency exits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityfire.co.uk/news/fire-safety-signs-law-meaning/|title=Fire Safety Signs: The Law and Their Meaning - City Fire Protection - Blog|first=City Fire|last=Protection|date=22 January 2013}}</ref> Well-designed emergency exit signs are necessary for emergency exits to be effective.

Fire escape signs usually display the word "EXIT" or the equivalent word in the local language with large, well-lit, green letters, or the green pictorial "running-man" symbol<ref>[http://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:grs:7010:2:E002 ISO 7010:2011 — Graphical symbols]</ref> developed and adopted in [[Japan]] around 1980<ref>[http://www.slate.com/articles/life/signs/2010/03/the_big_red_word_vs_the_little_green_man.html?yahoo=y "The Big Red Word vs. the Little Green Man"], Julia Turner, March 2010, Slate.com</ref> and introduced in 2003 by [[ISO 7010]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.connectingindustry.com/factoryequipment/the-iso-7010-safety-standard-and-what-it-means-for-you.aspx|title=The ISO 7010 safety standard and what it means for you - Factory Equipment|website=www.connectingindustry.com|access-date=2012-08-28|archive-date=2015-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210221/http://www.connectingindustry.com/factoryequipment/the-iso-7010-safety-standard-and-what-it-means-for-you.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Pictorial green "running-man" sign is mandatory in Japan, [[European Union]], [[South Korea]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Canada]],<ref>[http://www.canadianpropertymanagement.ca/TraditionalExitSignChangestoRunningMan.aspx Traditional Signs to EXIT in Favour of the Running Man ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228073449/http://www.canadianpropertymanagement.ca/TraditionalExitSignChangestoRunningMan.aspx |date=February 28, 2013 }}</ref> and increasingly becoming common elsewhere.

Some states in the [[United States]] currently require the exit signs to be colored red, despite the usage of color red in signage usually implies hazards, prohibited actions or stop, while the color green implies safe place/actions or to proceed. Older building code in Canada required red exit signs, but no new installation is allowed.

===Emergency door release===
[[File:Boîtier ouverture porte issue de secours.jpg|thumb|upright|An emergency door release call point in [[Limonest]], [[Rhône]], France]]
An emergency door release call point (or a pull station in the United States) is used to disengage locking devices such as electromagnets, bolt locks, and electric locks while also ensuring positive security and failsafe operation.