This week, Global HSE are supporting Fire Door Safety Week. A campaign created to engage and educate building owners and building users on the importance of a fully compliant and functioning fire door.

This blog will help give a better understanding of what is a fire door, the components that make one up and how to maintain and inspect them.

What is a fire door?

Fire doors are a legal requirement in almost all commercial buildings and residential properties – including blocks of flats, sheltered accommodation and multiple occupancy premises.

The doorsets are specifically designed to maintain compartmentation and delay the spread of fire from one area of the building to another. The two most important functions that fire doors have are:

• When closed, to form a barrier to prevent the spread of fire
• When opened, to provide a means of escape

They are constructed of materials designed to resist fire for a certain amount of time. The most common fire door categories are FD30 and FD60, which offer 30 and 60 minutes protection. Standard doors will withstand an advanced building fire for only a few minutes and allow the fire and smoke to spread rapidly through a building. This means, in the event of a fire, a normal door is about as protective as no door – and likewise for an open or incorrectly installed fire door.

Regulations and requirements

There are strict regulations and guidelines that property owners must follow to ensure fire doors are fully functional and compliant. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), landlords are responsible for ensuring their properties and tenants are safe. The ‘responsible person’ has a legal responsibility under the FSO and can be criminally prosecuted if they do not fulfil their duties.

Fire doors should always be fitted by a competent installer with the correct certification for the products used to make up the door assembly. There is a legal requirement for manufacturers of fire doors to demonstrate the ability of their products to resist the passage and spread of fire. However, these fire resisting capabilities can be compromised if the doors are not properly installed.

Global HSE are accredited to the BM TRADA Q-Mark Installation scheme. This scheme is based on training individuals to ensure doorsets are installed correctly and in accordance with the manufacturers guidelines. Visit our accreditations page to see more of the certifications we hold.

Fire door maintenance

It is essential fire doors are regularly inspected and maintained. Periodic checks should be carried out at least once every six months to inspect the fire door for damage. Any damages may prevent it from performing in the event of a fire. If issues do arise, they should be fixed as soon as possible using compatible, correct fire rated components.

Read our recent blog post to find out how to carry out checks to a fire door.

If you have any queries relating to the installation and maintenance of doors, contact our team through this enquiry form.

Global support Fire Door Safety Week to raise awareness of the importance of fire doors in protecting homes and saving lives.

The Fire Door Safety Week campaign focuses on the critical role of fire doors, drawing attention to specific issues that are often overlooked. Through combined efforts across the industry, we can create awareness of the importance of effective fire door installation and maintenance.

British Woodworking Federation launched the Fire Door Safety Week campaign in 2013. Partners supporting the campaign include the Home Office’s National Fire Safety campaign and London Fire Brigade.

Around 3 million new fire doors are installed across the UK, every year. Fire doors are often the first line of defence in the event of a fire. This can mean the correct specification, maintenance and management can be the difference between life and death for building occupants. Despite this, fire doors still remain a significant area of neglect, often mismanaged, downgraded on specification, damaged and badly maintained.

Campaign Objectives

Fire Door Safety Week has the following objectives:

• Raise awareness of the critical role of fire doors, drawing attention to specific issues such as poor installation and maintenance.
• Encourage building owners and users to check the operation and condition of their fire doors and to report those that aren’t satisfactory.
• Link together the initiatives of many organisations with common interests in the fire door and passive fire protection industries.
• Engage and educate people, helping the whole building industry and every property owner to understand the correct specification, supply, installation, operation, inspection and maintenance.

Play your Part

Regardless of your position within the industry, the effectiveness of fire doors can affect anyone. Therefore, it is essential we work together to engage and educate the building industry and property owners to understand the correct specification, installation and maintenance of fire doors.

Keep up to date with this campaign on social media by following #FireDoorSafetyWeek. Alternatively click here for advice on building types and read our blog for all things Fire Safety.

With Britain in lockdown and government officials asking non-essential employees to work remotely, once fully occupied buildings and popular businesses are near vacant. To some, this may seem like an acceptable time to let fire protection take a back seat.

Due to the recent government guidelines and changing environment of the current coronavirus situation, we would like to notify our clients and partners on various issues which may arise, and assure you we are doing our part in prioritising the wellbeing of both our employees and clients alike.

When a fire ripped through the creative arts block at a Dorset school it was a blessed relief that the fire-safety professionals had done their job properly and shows the benefits of fire doors.

Global HSE Solutions attended the Occupational Safety & Health Forum a platform so that senior Health & Safety Managers can meet directly & privately with specialists from the supplier market to assist with the requirements & current forthcoming safety investments.