FIRE SAFETY & DISASTER RECOVERY A CALL FOR CLARITY


Fire door compliance in the UK is becoming increasingly complex, as FMs navigate conflicting regulations, devolved legislation, and inconsistent accreditation schemes. It is raising urgent calls for a unified, risk-based standard that prioritises real safety over box-ticking, says John McKenzie, Technical Director, Equans UK & Ireland.


Fire doors aren’t just to protect an escape route. They compartmentalise areas of a building to reduce the spread of fire and act as the first line of defence in fire safety. In a post-Grenfell world – they are (rightly) front and centre of building safety standards – but for facilities managers, the matter of fire doors is becoming increasingly nuanced and complicated.


The reality is, facilities management teams across the UK are currently grappling with a system where perfectly serviceable fire doors are failing compliance checks. And not because they aren’t safe. But because of an inconsistent patchwork of competing inspection and accreditation schemes.


Certified repair techniques are going unrecognised by one scheme after being approved by another. Contractors and FMs find themselves navigating a labyrinth, where every winding path is marked by a different signpost – and none lead to the same destination.


The first hurdle for any FM is legislative: statutory building and fire safety regulations. But some legislation is a devolved matter. England follows the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and is still becoming accustomed to the Building Safety Act 2022. Wales, in turn, has just passed their new Building Safety (Wales) Bill, which is by some measures even broader in scope. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, separate Fire Legislation and Building Regulations apply, enforced by different authorities, each bringing their own nuances and requirements into play.


For companies like Equans, operating throughout the UK, this means we are subject to four distinct compliance frameworks, with enforcement divided variously between Local Authorities, the Fire & Rescue Authority, and in some instances the Health & Safety Executive. Layered on top of this statutory complexity are the non-interoperable, competing accreditation and inspection schemes – each with its own standards, each with its own documentation, and, unfortunately, each with its own interpretation.


The lack of a single, unifying compliance scheme creates not only a headache for FMs – it creates grey areas. Doors that should pass fail. Good repair techniques are overlooked. Even fire systems for which there is no specific British Standard (like some types of fire stopping) become arenas for conflicting advice.


To address this, Equans is developing a single, internally governed Fire Door Scheme that cuts through this complexity and provides a clear, nationally aligned


benchmark for inspection, maintenance, repair and installation. Built around recognised standards such as BS 8214, but not constrained by the limitations of any single third-party accreditation, the scheme creates a consistent, risk-based approach that works across devolved legislative regimes. It defines what ‘good’ looks like in practical terms: who is competent to do what, how decisions are made, how repairs are justified, and how evidence is recorded. The aim is simple – to move away from fragmented, scheme driven compliance and towards a defensible, proportionate model that focuses on real fire safety outcomes rather than contradictory tick box interpretations.


What is so desperately needed and desired across the sector, is a single, authoritative scheme for fire door compliance, that is accepted across all regions.


This scheme should be developed with input from industry stakeholders including regulators, fire safety experts, contractors, and FM professionals. This would not only level the playing field, but help prevent accidental non- compliance, drive consistency in outcomes, and protect the credibility of our sector.


www.equans.co.uk 28 | TOMORROW’S FM


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