What is the actual rule on "fire door keep shut" signs?

[Guest Felix]

Hi folks.

I design door hardware, and am looking for some info after an hour of googling with no luck.

Every "fire door keep shut" sign I see seems to be blue. I cannot find a definitive answer as to whether the sign needs to be blue. All online guides and even the BS 5499 documentation seems to say they ARE blue, but not that they NEED TO BE blue to meet the standards. Can anyone tell me definitively what the rule is?

If it does need to be blue to meet the standards, does that mean a non-blue sign is as worthless as no sign at all?

Thanks in advance,

Felix

[AnthonyB]

They need to be blue as a mandatory type sign in order to satisfy Regulation 4(4) and (5) of the Health & Safety (Safety Signs & Signals) Regulations 1996 as defined in SCHEDULE 1 PART 1 "Minimum requirements concerning safety signs and signals at work"

It's a moot point as to whether it makes a practical difference as these signs don't include a specific pictogram, older buildings sometimes have the previous style of fire door keep shut sign using a red diamond on white with text in the middle, I certainly don't loose sleep over it - it's better than nothing - so would consider it a low priority compared to other signage issues (including no sign at all).