5/2021 – Fire Safety Requirements for Emergency Lighting System in Licensed/Registered Premises

Fire Safety Requirements for Emergency Lighting System in Licensed/Registered Premises

This Circular Letter serves to announce two revised sets of fire safety requirements for emergency lighting systems with central power supply and self-contained luminaires emergency lighting systems, i.e. Requirements for Emergency Lighting Systems with Central Power Supply [PPA/104 (5th Revision)] and Requirements for Self-contained Luminaires Emergency Lighting Systems [PPA/104(A) (5th Revision)], which are to be imposed by this Department on various licensed/registered premises such as food premises, cinemas / theatres, places of public entertainment, child care centres, non-designed schools, massage establishments, etc. Meanwhile, the FSD Circular Letter No. 1/2006 is hereby superseded by this Circular Letter. 

Since the promulgation of FSD Circular Letter No. 1/2006, two sets of fire safety requirements for emergency lighting systems to be used in licensed/registered premises, viz. PP A/104 ( 4th Revision) and PP A/104(A) ( 4th Revision), have been released for observance by the concerned trades and practitioners for years. With a view to keeping the fire safety requirements in pace with technological advancement and to enhancing the fire safety standards in licensed/registered premises, a Sub-working Group of Fire Safety Standard Advisory Group was set up and tasked to conduct a holistic review on the fire safety requirements. 

Subsequent to the comprehensive discussion and rounds of consultations with the trades concerned, the fire safety requirements for emergency lighting systems with central power supply and self-contained luminaires emergency lighting systems for licensed/registered premises have been revised. 

The two revised sets of requirements, viz. PPA/104 (5th Revision) and PPA/104(A) (5th Revision) are attached at Appendix I and Appendix II and they can also be downloaded from the FSD's official website.

Apart from updating of relevant requirements with reference to the current international/national standards, main areas of revision are as follows:
(a) Minimum fire resisting cable requirements for Fire Service Installations as specified in FSD Circular Letter No. 2/2017;
(b) Routine inspection and test for emergency lighting systems conforming to relevant requirements of BS EN 50172: 2004;
(c) Provision of escape lighting in facility which 1s part of an escape route [applicable to PPA/104 (5th Revision) only];
(d) Performance verification for emergency lighting systems [applicable to PPA/104 (5th Revision) only]; and
​(e) Minimum period of 2-hour (rated duration) specified for self-contained luminaires emergency lighting systems [applicable to PPA/104(A) (5th Revision) only] 
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In order to allow the trades and practitioners concerned to get prepared for the changes involved in the revision of fire safety requirements, the two revised sets of fire safety requirements will be imposed on licensed/registered premises for all submissions of applications received by respective licensing authority or by this Department with effect from 1.6.2022.