Glow-in-dark safety markings on buildings approved

(SunStar Davao graphics)
(SunStar Davao graphics)

THE Davao City Council approved on its third and final reading last Monday, December 3, an ordinance requiring establishments to install photo-luminescent safety and directional markings leading to all available means of egress and emergency exits.

The ordinance was authored by first district Councilor Maria Belen Acosta, requiring buildings with any forms of gathering a minimum of 50 persons like business institutions, assembly areas, educational institutions, storage facilities, health care facilities, among others to install glow-in-the dark safety and directional markings.

The Office of the City Building Official (OCBO) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are the agencies tasked with the implementation of the ordinance.

“Ang main purpose gyud ani kay safety kay og naay mga brownout or ngitngit kaayo, makita gihapon ang mga markings, naa gihapoy access pagawas (The main purpose of this [ordinance] is safety during incidents where there is power interruption. People could still see the markings and will still have access to the building’s exit),” OCBO head Cirinia Grace Catubig said in a phone interview with SunStar Davao yesterday, December 5.

“Kani man gud wala gyud specification sa building code. Ang gi-require lang sa code is at least naay light, naay ventilation for air (This photo-luminescent requirement was not specified in the building code as long as there is light and proper ventilation),” Catubig said.

The ordinance required photo-luminescent materials to emit light for a length of time during emergencies where light sources are removed.

The markings should be located at doors and doorframes or final exit doors, stairways and steps, ramps and no-exit doors, and safety equipment areas.

All establishments already occupied prior to the enactment of the ordinance are given six months to comply while the new establishments will be required upon the issuance of building occupancy permit.

Non-compliance of this ordinance can lead to cancellation of business permit. (LHC)

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