FIRE SAFETY
Effective fire door strategy in focus
The importance of effective fire doors, and the key role of staff training in their installation, maintenance, and use in healthcare facilities, were highlighted at a recent fire door safety seminar at Intastop’s Doncaster headquarters. Speakers including Karen Byard, Maintenance and Fire Safety manager at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, and Frank Gallagher from Doorset Technology, gave their standpoints. Here Phil Barsby, Intastop’s Business Development director, discusses effective fire door technologies, shares key points from the day, and discusses ‘why collaborative working is the only way to protect more people’.
Fire doors have become a topic of much discussion in the past 18 months, and yet it is still apparent that not enough importance is afforded to the significant impact they can have on protecting building users, and, equally, the fabric of the building. They are the first line of defence, and a physical barrier between fire, smoke, and harm coming to building occupants. A fire door forms part of a building’s passive fire protection system, and such doors are designed and developed to save lives and protect property. One issue that poses a problem is that there is no overarching
legislation that determines a minimum standard for fire doors, yet it is requirement that they are fitted to all public buildings, offices, and factories. However, due to neglect, downgrading of specifications, and mismanagement of such doors, they have become an area of concern for those working in the industry, and especially those who are striving to standardise and elevate manufacturing and certification procedures.
With this in mind it is vital that facilities managers and maintenance teams ensure
that the correct doors are specified, and that they are maintained appropriately – it is here where minimal training and a lack of understanding can have a significant negative impact – compromising safety, putting building users at risk, and exposing employers, landlords, and building owners, to damaging criticism and legal action should things go wrong.
Lack of overarching legislation Perhaps the most significant point of note is that there is no definitive legislation dictating the standards that need to be attained by fire doors in multi-use or communal buildings. That said, this does not absolve building owners and landlords of the responsibilities that come with owning and renting buildings. There is still much legislation surrounding neglect and endangering life, and the responsibility thus still lies with such personnel to ensure that the correct standards of occupant protection are achieved.
The importance of properly maintained, certified fire doors cannot be underestimated; they play a key role in overall compartmentation strategy, and in protecting a building’s occupants should fire break out.
THE NETWORK | JULY 2019
However, in reality, due to the lack of legislation, and in turn awareness, the responsibility for ensuring that adequate protection is provided lies with the decisions of individuals. Happily, the public sector does increasingly now seem more aware of its responsibilities, and as guidance and rules are becoming more widespread, significant improvements are being made in some areas – including in fire door safety. These improvements include the specification of doorsets where every element is fire tested and certified, proper and regular maintenance, and components such as hinges and furniture also being fire tested and certified, to ensure that door integrity is not compromised. In the healthcare and mental health sector a particular focus on the safety and fitness for purpose of fire doors is key, given both the need to ensure the wellbeing of vulnerable patients and residents, and potential issues with lack of mobility or perception of danger in emergency situations.
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