Feature


Healthcare And Fire Safety: Why Prevention Is Better Than The Cure


Health and wellbeing is naturally high on the agenda in healthcare facilities, but what more can be done to ensure fire door safety is being met with competency and not complacency? Alex Airnes of Allegion UK discusses.


Healthcare environments are synonymous with caution, wellness and safety. Though, where National Health Service professionals work determinedly to meet the needs of their patients, equally as vital are the fire door safety procedures practiced throughout NHS premises.


Fire safety management plays a crucial role in all healthcare settings,


where protecting staff, visitors and potentially


vulnerable patients is a continuous effort. Even with a host of unique operational challenges, hospitals, for example, are often considered to be one of the safest public buildings. In fact, a survey conducted by The British Woodworking Federation discovered that 52% of respondents believed hospitals to provide the highest level of fire safety in a building1


.


Despite these perceptions, NHS data has previously reported a concerning rise in fire incidents2


across sites around the


country. The inherently busy nature of healthcare settings and around-the-clock use of facilities containing vulnerable patients, medical equipment and even flammable materials, presents a complex set of fire safety issues that must be addressed. With that in mind, is there perhaps more work to be done to ensure fire door safety is approached professionally to further mitigate risk?


28 fmuk Health And Fire Door Safety


In the three months ending January 2025, an average of 46,000 people visited major hospital A&E departments each day in England, with a further 27,300 visitors attending minor A&E facilities every day3


. Fire doors play a vital role in protecting


each of those individuals, but when paired with the fast-flowing traffic often found in healthcare facilities, this sustained level of footfall can create relentless environments that are unforgiving on fire doors and their hardware.


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