Fire Doors

Fire door inspection, testing and maintenance is a statutory legal requirement for businesses in the UK. Minimise risk and maximise fire safety by arranging your regular three to six month fire door checks with a Churches Fire & Security plan. Rest assured our inspections are always carried out by certified and trained technicians.

STOP THE SPREAD OF FIRE, CONTAIN SMOKE, AND PROTECT EVACUATION ROUTES WITH HIGH-QUALITY FIRE DOOR INSPECTIONS FROM CHURCHES FIRE & SECURITY.

FIRE DOOR USAGE

In order to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, fire door maintenance is a key requirement for every business and establishment to which the order applies.

In the event of a fire, when used as part of the passive fire protection of the building, a well maintained and fully operational fire door will help prevent the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of a structure and enable occupants to escape safely from the building.

A key contributor towards a safe work environment, fire doors can be used to separate escape routes from hazards aiding in the emergency evacuation process, by providing valuable time for escape.

How often should you have a fire door inspection?

In order for fire doors to perform effectively in the event of a fire, regular inspections should be undertaken to ensure their structural integrity and functionality. Six-monthly inspections are recommended by BS 9999 in addition to the monthly inspection checks outlined within the government guidance documentation.

What is covered during a fire door inspection?

Fire door inspections consist of extensive checks of each individual fire door component. Inspections should be completed by a certified fire safety technician who is able to carefully assess each of the key components for faults, damage or wear.

Churches Fire & Security visual fire door inspections begin by focusing on the door’s structural integrity, assessing the door leaf, door frame, self-closer, door hinges, door selector, locks and handles, panic hardware, apertures and glazing. The visual inspection also inspects passive protection features surrounding the door such as intumescent door strips and cold smoke seals. The gaps between the door and frame and the threshold gaps are measured. In addition, fire safety signage is checked for clarity and compliance, in line with current regulations.

FIRE DOOR SAFETY WEEK

Every year, the British Woodworking Federation, the BWF Fire Door Alliance and Fire Door Inspection Scheme highlight the vital importance of regular inspection with Fire Door Safety Week.

Objectives of the week are to raise awareness of the role of fire doors, educate the public on correct installation, operation and maintenance and to encourage people to report suspected damage or faults on any fire door they come across.

There are 5 things identified to check for when examining fire doors.

5 things to check for fire door safety
IMAGE SOURCE: BRITISH WOODWORKING FEDERATION

Need some help?

If you would like to find out more about fire door maintenance and what the Churches Fire & Security plan can do for your business, call our customer development team on 0370 608 4350 or complete the form for a call back.

Fire doors

Learn more about how Churches Fire & Security inspect and maintain Fire Doors in our downloadable pdf.

Download Fire Door Info

Fire Door Maintenance

A regular fire door inspection is recommended to ensure the safety of your property and people. In most cases a bi-annual inspection is recommended to monitor any wear, allowing for replacement of parts, although where doors are used more heavily, there should be an increased frequency of inspection, on which Churches Fire & Security can advise.

While bi-annual inspections are a recommendation by BS 9999, it is also important that daily and monthly visual inspections are made to check for any potential problems.

Daily checks should include visual inspection of and testing of automatic release mechanisms.

Monthly checks include: testing the fail-safe mechanisms for automatic doors; testing the operation of hold-open devices under a simulated loss of power or fire alarm; and testing the correct operation of panic hardware on emergency and panic doors.

Regular inspections and checks should be recorded and dated by the responsible person with repair or replacement of faulty doors taking place as a priority with any such repairs recorded.

This simple ten-point checklist gives an overview of what to consider when inspecting your company’s fire doors.
1. Are your fire doors certificated (label or plug)?
2. Are the gaps between the leaf and frame 3mm (+/- 1mm)?
3. Are the intumescent/cold smoke seals damaged or missing?
4. Are the hinges all firmly fixed with no screws missing?
5. Do all handles and panic hardware operate correctly?
6. Are the doors able to close in a controlled manner and are they free from obstruction?
7. Do door selectors operate correctly?
8. Is the glass secure in the frame?
9. Do the doors display the correct signage and is it legible?
10. Have your doors been inspected by a trained industry professional?

It’s worth noting that if the leaf is a FD it’s threshold gap (bottom rail) can be no greater than 8mm, and if the leaf is a FD(30/60)S, it’s threshold gap can be no greater than 3mm.

BOLSTER SYSTEMS

As part of our continuous business improvement, we have implemented the use of Bolster Systems; an innovative app that provides electronic management of fire door inspections.

Key features of the application include:

  • Evidence of fire stopping compliance after inspection
  • Record of maintenance works
  • Easily identifiable locations of fire doors

Bolster Systems

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