Fire Door Safety Week Focus
Driving forward standards in fire door safety
Fire Door Safety Week raises awareness of the vital role that fire doors play in keeping building occupants across the UK safe. Helen Hewitt of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), explains how greater awareness coupled with new legislation is moving fire safety standards forward
F
ire doors are required in most public, commercial and multiple occupancy buildings. Tey play a vital role in helping to hold back the spread of fire and/or smoke to allow for a safe means of escape for
building occupants while enabling the emergency services to enter the building. Tey consist of specialist components which have been designed and tested to control the passage of smoke and withstand fire for a specific period. However, fire doors continue to be used and treated improperly. Tey’re oſten
leſt propped open or damaged, and these issues frequently go unreported. For a fire door to fulfil its life-saving role in the event of a fire, it must be properly specified, installed and maintained, as well as properly used, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to play a part.
NEW FIRE DOOR RESPONSIBILITIES Regulation is what underpins the entire fire safety ecosystem when it comes to housing, so let’s start there. New building fire safety regulations, known as the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force in January 2023 implementing many of the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report. Highlighting the important role that fire doors play in a building’s fire safety, the new legislation primarily focuses on the role of the ‘responsible person’ and multiple occupancy buildings, particularly high-rise properties.
Within Regulation 10 of the new legislation, there are two key areas
surrounding fire doors the responsible person needs to be aware of: keeping residents informed and fire door inspections. Te responsible person needs to ensure that all residents are aware of crucial
information over fire doors. Tis should cover basic use information, such as that fire doors should remain closed when not being used to enter/exit an area and should not be tampered with in any way. Information also needs to be provided over how and who to report fire door
faults and damage to. Tis should be communicated to new residents as soon as possible and
reissued to all residents every 12 months to maintain awareness of the role and importance of fire doors in maintaining fire safety. Te second key area of the legislation highlights the responsible person’s
requirement to regularly monitor and check the condition of the building’s fire doors. Tis allows for maintenance issues to be quickly spotted and addressed, enabling the door to perform as designed in the event of a fire. Te frequency of fire door checks specified by the new legislation varies
depending on the height of the building. For example, if the top storey is taller than 11 m or four storeys high, the fire doors should be checked by the responsible person at least every 12 months while fire doors in communal areas should be checked every three months.
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMMAugust/September 2023 | 35
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