FIRE & ELECTRICAL SAFETY
THE LAST LINE OF DEFENCE
When it comes to fire safety, adopting a prevention-first
approach is health and safety 101; ensuring policies and procedures are in place to
reduce risk so the likelihood of a fire is virtually zero. However, not every fire is preventable.
Home Office figures for fire and rescue in 2022/23 recorded 13,550 fires in non-dwellings such as offices, retail premises, commercial/industrial buildings, schools and hospitals. Over 10,000 of these were accidental.
The correct use of fire doors is vital in any commercial building to preserve life and property, and ensure a building’s occupants can safely escape in a fire.
SPECIFYING THE RIGHT FIRE DOOR Fire doors are part of a building’s passive fire protection, using compartmentalisation to slow the spread of heat and flames. The most commonly found fire doors in public and commercial buildings are FD30 and FD60 doors, which offer 30 minutes and 60 minutes’ resistance. Additional protection through higher rated doors (eg FD90 or FD120) can be required for computer server or boiler rooms, high-end store rooms, or stairwells – or simply as part of the fire strategy from a Building Control officer or architect. Recently, we’ve seen a swing to these being used in common areas to over-specify protection.
Fire doors can also (and ideally should) be smoke control doors, which have a different specification. The maximum gap allowed between the bottom of a fire door and a non-combustible threshold is 10mm. British Standards guidance for smoke control doors advises that when fitted, the threshold gap should be sealed by a flexible edge or automatic drop seal, just contacting the floor but not interfering with the closing action of the door – where this isn’t feasible, the gap shouldn’t exceed 3mm. See BS8214:2016 for more.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL OPTIONS Custom-made fire doors can also offer sound reduction or acoustic performance, by up to 48dB for FD30 doors, or 46dB for FD60. These can be used to minimise noise from server rooms, kitchens or meeting areas, or adjoining warehouses or factories.
Some doors offer enhanced security, usually for internal entrance doors - look for PAS24 FD30 and PAS24 FD60 door sets.
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www.tomorrowshs.com
James Saunders, Managing Director of Enfield Speciality Doors, discusses fire door specification, the latest regulatory requirements, and the importance of regular maintenance.
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