Cover story
In the frame: keeping fire doors in the pink
The simple implementation of a good maintenance regime and the application of reputable fire-rated door protection products can help win the battle against detrimental and costly impact damage to fire doors, as Yeoman Shield marketing manager Sally Moores explains
Fire doors have the important job of preventing the spread of smoke and flame in buildings in the event of a fire, helping to save both lives and buildings. Article 17 of the UK government’s
Fire Safety Order states it is a legal requirement to adequately maintain fire doors as part of fire safety provisions. It is therefore vital that not only are
fire doors specified, supplied and fitted correctly but are also maintained to the highest standard.
On the front line In a care home environment, fire doors are certainly in the front line when it comes to impact damage that can lead to the malfunction and the loss of integrity of a fire door. This damage can be attributed to the
movement of wheeled beds, equipment and wheelchairs as well as the constant flow of staff, residents and visitors. Though some of the impairment may
seem inconsequential to begin with, it can quite early on start to have a serious effect on the performance of the fire doors if left unchecked.
The sum of many parts A fire door is made up of many components that all need to be inspected on a regular basis - the recommendation is every six months - but those that are in high traffic areas should probably be looked at once a week. Parts such as door leaf, frame, seals,
ironmongery, gaps between doors and frames, closers, signage, hinges, glazing, locks/latches and grilles should all be under scrutiny. Adding reputable, fire-rated door
protection products can protect some of these essential elements of the door, helping to maintain the condition resulting in the reduction of time and money spent on repair and replacement.
In the frame: keeping
fire doors in the pink Covid-19 and innovating dementia care A rough guide to care home safety technology
Mind the gap Door edges are persistently damaged leading to the gaps between the meeting edges/edges and frames becoming greater than the 3-4 millimetres constant recommended for the efficient employment of intumescent strips, which help to seal a door in the event of a fire - slowing the passage of smoke and flame. The installation of a fire-rated PVCu
door edge protector to both meeting and hinged edges can put a halt to such damage without affecting the fire door integrity. As long as a door edge is not too
inflicted, a door edge protector - along with adjustments where necessary to hinges and frames - can also provide a solution to reducing the oversized gaps.
Perfect beading One of the most vulnerable components of the door is glazing beads that can become split, loose or missing, undoubtably affecting the integrity of a fire door. These problems again stop the all-important intumescent seals around the vision panel of a fire door from working to an optimum. A glazing bead unit can be replaced with
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www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • August 2021
Volume 6 l Issue 8 l August 2021
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
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