Emergency Lighting

The System Nobody Notices Until It Fails

Emergency lighting is the easiest thing in a commercial building to forget. It sits on the ceiling doing nothing for years. There is no alarm when it stops working. A battery that died eighteen months ago looks exactly like a battery that is fully charged.

Then the power goes out, and the one system whose entire job is to get people out of a dark building does not come on.

Fire inspectors know this, which is why emergency lighting and exit signs are among the most commonly cited deficiencies in commercial buildings. The lights are usually there. They are usually mounted correctly. They just do not hold a charge anymore, and nobody tested them.

Zgoda Fire Protection installs, inspects, tests, and repairs emergency lighting and exit signs across the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle, on the schedule the code requires, with the documentation your fire marshal asks for.

What North Carolina Requires

Emergency lighting is not optional equipment and testing it is not a recommendation.

The North Carolina Fire Code, built on the International Fire Code with North Carolina amendments, requires the means of egress in commercial buildings to be illuminated whenever the space is occupied, and requires emergency power to illuminate exit routes when normal power fails. Exit signs must be placed so that one is visible along the egress path, and they must be illuminated.

The performance requirements are specific:

Emergency illumination must last not less than 90 minutes after a power failure
The system must activate within 10 seconds of losing normal power
Egress paths must be illuminated to an average of at least 1 foot-candle measured at floor level along the path, with a minimum of 0.1 foot-candle at any single point
Stairways carry a higher requirement, 10 foot-candles at the walking surface when in use

And the testing schedule, which is where most buildings fall down:

A functional test every 30 days, running each unit for not less than 30 seconds, confirming the unit transfers to battery and the lamps actually illuminate
An annual test running the full 90 minutes, confirming the battery holds the load for the entire required duration

Those two tests are different in kind, not just in length. A 30-second test tells you the unit switches over. Only the 90-minute test tells you the battery can actually last as long as the code requires. A battery degraded to twenty minutes of capacity passes the monthly test every single time and fails the people in the building.

Records of this testing must be maintained and available for your fire code official on request. Enforcement is local: the City of Raleigh Office of the Fire Marshal is the authority inside Raleigh, and Durham, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, and Chapel Hill each have their own.

What We Cover

Emergency lighting is a category, not a single fixture. Zgoda Fire Protection handles all of it:

Emergency lighting units — the battery-backed twin-head fixtures that illuminate egress paths on loss of power
Illuminated exit signs — including combination exit sign and emergency light units
Emergency egress and corridor lighting — the path from any occupied space to an exit
Stairwell lighting — which carries the higher illumination requirement
Exterior egress illumination — the discharge area outside the exit, which is frequently missed because people stop at the door
Inverter and central battery systems, where a building uses a central source rather than individual unit batteries

Whether your building runs individual battery units, a central inverter, or a mix of both, the same schedule applies and we test all of it together.

1. We Survey What You Actually Have

Most buildings do not have an accurate count of their emergency lighting. Fixtures get added during renovations, exit signs get moved, and nobody updates a list. We walk the property and build an inventory of every emergency light, exit sign, and egress fixture, along with its location and condition.

That inventory becomes the basis for everything after, and it is the thing your fire marshal implicitly expects you to have.

2. We Test to the Required Schedule

We perform the 30-second functional test and the annual 90-minute duration test to code, on the interval each requires. Every unit is tested individually, not sampled.

Anything that fails is documented with its location, what failed, and what it needs.

3. We Fix What Fails, In House

This is where most providers hand you a report and leave.

A failed emergency light is an electrical repair. It means a battery, a ballast or driver, a lamp head, a wiring fault, or a full fixture replacement on a hardwired circuit. Zgoda Fire Protection holds an Unlimited Classification Electrical Contractor License from the North Carolina Board of Examiners (#U.39068), so the same company that finds the deficiency corrects it. No subcontracted electrician, no second scheduling window, no gap between the inspection that found the problem and the repair that closes it.

Put It on a Recurring Routine

The monthly test is the requirement buildings miss most, because it is monthly, it is tedious, and it never feels urgent.

Zgoda Fire Protection offers recurring emergency lighting routines that put the whole schedule on autopilot. We track when your annual 90-minute test is due, handle the testing, document every unit, and flag what needs replacing before it becomes a citation.

Most properties bundle it with the rest of their fire protection: fire alarms annually, sprinklers on the NFPA 25 schedule, extinguishers annually, suppression systems semi-annually, and emergency lighting on its own cycle. One provider, one schedule, one point of contact.

Set Up a Recurring Inspection Routine - Call (919) 368-7464

Why Commercial Properties Choose Zgoda Fire

Electrical work handled in house. The Unlimited Classification Electrical Contractor License (#U.39068) means testing and repair are the same visit and the same company. Most fire protection vendors can test your emergency lighting but have to subcontract the fix.

One provider for the whole building. Fire alarms, sprinkler inspections, suppression systems, clean agent systems, extinguishers, and emergency lighting under one schedule, with no gaps between trades and nobody pointing at another vendor.

Documentation that holds up. Every unit tested, logged by location, with pass or fail results, deficiencies described plainly, and corrective action noted. The record your fire marshal asks for, not a one-line receipt.

You work with the same team. When you call Zgoda Fire, you reach Christopher and his team. The people who survey your building are the people who test it and pick up the phone when something goes wrong.

Locally owned, serving the Triangle since 2017.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at zgodafire@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

How often does emergency lighting need to be tested in North Carolina?

Two tests are required. A functional test every 30 days, running each unit for at least 30 seconds to confirm it switches to battery and illuminates. And an annual test running the full 90 minutes to confirm the battery holds the required duration. Records must be kept and made available to your fire code official on request.

What is the 90-minute emergency light test?

It is the annual test that runs each emergency light on battery power for a full 90 minutes, the minimum duration the code requires the system to operate after a power failure. It is the only test that proves the battery still holds a real charge. A degraded battery with twenty minutes of capacity will pass a 30-second monthly test every time.

Why did my building fail its emergency lighting inspection?

The most common causes are batteries that no longer hold a 90-minute charge, burned out or missing lamp heads, exit signs that are not illuminated, fixtures that were added during a renovation and never wired to emergency power, obstructed or missing exit signage, and no testing records on file. Most are inexpensive to correct once identified.

Do exit signs need to be illuminated?

Yes. Where exit sign illumination is required by code, the signs must be illuminated and must remain illuminated on emergency power for the required duration when normal power fails. Exit signs must also be placed so the path of egress is marked and a sign is visible along the route.

Can my own staff do the monthly test?

Building staff can perform the 30-day functional test if they are trained to do it and it is documented properly. The annual 90-minute test is more involved, requires every unit to run for the full duration, and is where failures actually surface, so it is normally performed and documented professionally. We can cover the full schedule, or set your staff up to handle the monthly checks while we take the annual. Either way the records stay complete.

What happens if my emergency lighting fails an inspection?

The deficiency is documented and must be corrected. Your AHJ can issue a correction order with a deadline, and depending on severity and occupancy, a significant egress lighting impairment can carry further requirements until it is restored. Unresolved deficiencies can lead to code violations and insurance complications.

Do you install emergency lighting, or only inspect it?

Both. Zgoda Fire Protection designs, installs, inspects, tests, and repairs commercial emergency lighting and exit signs. Because we hold an Unlimited Classification Electrical Contractor License, installation and repair are handled entirely in house.

Do you service self-testing emergency lighting units?

Yes. Self-testing and self-diagnostic units run the functional test automatically and flag a fault with an indicator light, which cuts down the manual monthly burden considerably. They still need to be verified, maintained, and documented, and the indicator only helps if somebody is actually checking it. If your building is a good candidate for them, we will tell you during the survey.

What areas does Zgoda Fire Protection serve?

Commercial properties throughout the greater Triangle, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, and Fayetteville.

Commercial Emergency Lighting and Exit Sign Services in North Carolina