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of compliance of fire doors can be requested. For this reason, the specification should be adhered to and only compatible components used – otherwise challenges can arise.
BWF mock trial •
As part of last year’s Fire Door Safety Week campaign, in September 2019 the BWF hosted an interactive mock criminal trial to provide manufacturers of fire safety products, consultants, contractors, designers, installers and duty holders with an insight into the possible legal repercussions for them in the event of a fire incident. It revealed important lessons for the wider supply chain around responsibility and liability for the failure of fire doors, specifically in cases where there is no third party certification. The mock trial found a fictional fire door
manufacturer – Prime Timber Doors Limited – guilty of a contravention of Section 6 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974, highlighting the broad legal landscape under which a failure of duty of care could fall. It was ruled that the fictional manufacturer – of a glazed timber fire door for use in a workplace in this scenario – failed to: • ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the door was so designed and constructed that it would be safe and without risks to health at
48 MARCH 2020
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all times when it was being used by a person at work
•
carry out, or arrange for the carrying out of, such testing and examination as may be necessary for the performance of the duty imposed
take such steps as are necessary to secure that persons supplied with the fire door in question are provided with adequate information about any conditions necessary to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health at all such times (ie information in respect of installation)
Issues raised
The trial event brought to light several key issues, and especially highlighted the confusion and debate around how the law can be interpreted. While the jury ruled against the fictional manufacturer, several of the failures cited for the verdict – which were designed to simulate where manufacturers could fall foul for real – are avoidable through ensuring fire doors are third party certificated and that accredited installers are used. For example, one of the key failures was the culpable firm’s reliance on the assessment of one of the components of the fire door assembly, which had expired. If a fire door manufacturer has third party certification, it means that specifiers
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