Need a Portable LED Emergency/Evacuation Light

[mhorste]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum and this is my first post.:wave:

I work in Healthcare and this week we had to evacuate all our patients from our facility as the result of a backup generator failure. We had hurricane damage in Cleveland Ohio!
Our wall mounted Emergency/Evacuation Lights only lasted about 20 minutes. We had to carry patients down the stairs with a few weak flashlights and glow sticks as our only illumination (at least we did plan ahead in that respect).
I'm looking for something PORTABLE that uses LED Lights and would last at least 4 hours. I imagined something very similar to the wall mounted Emergency/Evacuation Lights with 2 LED heads but portable. Something that I could leave plugged into a wall outlet to charge until I need it. basically a lunchbox with rechargeable batteries in it and two LED flashlight heads out the top. Heads that throw a very wide, soft beam would probably be best. I could bounce the light off the ceiling as well. I did some searches on Google but did not find exactly what I want.

Here are the questions:
Does someone already make something like this?
Can any one recommend a good brand?
Would I be better off re-purposing a wall mount unit to make it portable?
Do you have any other suggestions on a product that would work (I'm stuck on the lunchbox with lights idea)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Some of our dealers at the Market Place, CPFMP, carry Streamlight wall mounted/portable emergency lighting. Streamlight sells to firefighters and police, as well as civilians.

Bill

 

[jabe1]

Welcome to CPF!

I also would recommend Streamlight. We have a very good local dealer, just east of Cleveland, Brightguy.com. I'm sure they would help you find what you need.

I can't stress enough having personal lighting also, a headlamp especially can be invaluable in an evacuation situation.

 

[mhorste]

Very good advice. I was looking at Energizer folding lanterns but the quality level was not up to medical standards. I had heard about Streamlight but associated them with the small personal lights that use the CR123A batteries. The LiteBox Series is definitely a contender for the evacuation lights and the Knucklehead lights look like they may be great personal lights (very versatile with the clip & base). Pricing is right in line with expectations as well.
Thanks

 

[AnAppleSnail]

I suggest that you zip-tie a headlight to this item, with lithium (Energizer L91s for AA/AAA, or lithium primaries, or maybe Eneloop NiMH if you recharge yearly) cells in it (Not Alkaleaks!). In an emergency, take it and use it. After the emergency, replace the cells and put it back. You may have to plan against blinding others, but hands-free lighting everywhere you go is wonderful when the lights don't work.

 

[TMedina]

Welcome to CPF! :wave:

I don't know what kind of setup you folks had, but if I had to guess, they were cheap, crappy flashlights so somebody could "check the block". A "flashlights? Check." scenario.

I have no idea what your budget is, nor your emergency response plan, so I'm just going to make some observations:

1. Headlamps are great things. Especially if nurses and orderlies have their hands full.

2. You can find a number of good LED flashlights without breaking the bank - the Rayovac Indestructibles are getting a lot of love on the forum. Energizer and the other brands are starting to sell functional lights in the D-cell and AA-cell ranges.

3. Streamlight makes some offerings in AA now - they might be priced outside of your budget, but it's worth a look. Especially if you want multiple mode lights for different tasks. Of particular note: the "ProTac" and "Task-Light" lines from Streamlight run on AA-primaries.

4. In addition to your rechargeable lunch box idea, each nurses' station should have at least one contemporary LED flashlight with a pack of batteries. And before you buy in bulk, turn the lights out in a hallway and see if the light is bright enough to use for your intended purpose.

Sorry that my post comes across as lecturing - it's a point of interest with me.