Fire Door Safety Week 2020: Tips to Keep Your Premises Safe

September has come at last, bringing with it a crucial fire safety campaign: Fire Door Safety Week 2020. This year, the campaign will run from 21st to 27th of September, helping to raise awareness of issues surrounding fire doors and the benefits of having them properly installed and maintained. 

Whether you have one fire door or fifty, they are a vital component of any fire safety plan for commercial premises. The campaign, which first began in 2013, is designed to make people aware of why they should have fire doors, but also their own responsibilities for keeping them in good condition to ensure that they work in the event of a fire.

Fire Doors for Different Premises

You may be wondering when fire doors are required? How many? And even what types of buildings and businesses need them? The answer is that almost all non-domestic premises require fire doors in some capacity, it simply depends on the building and what it is used for. These factors will determine where fire doors are required, what level of fire resistance is needed and how they should be maintained.

For example, a school will have a much higher level of foot traffic than a small commercial office, and therefore they will need much more frequent inspections to ensure the rougher handling and increased usage have not reduced their ability to function.

In care homes, evacuation procedures usually centre around a stay-put policy so that residents can be rescued without struggling to exit the building or injuring themselves in any confusion. Therefore, fire doors for care homes should be able to not only resist fire, protecting residents as they stay in place, but they should also prevent smoke from spreading through the building. To be certain that people will be safe long enough to be rescued, regular inspections of fire doors should be carried out.

For HMOs, because escape routes need to be protected, it’s recommended that fire doors meet the minimum requirement of 30 minutes of fire resistance (FD30 fire doors). 

As you can see, fire doors in all buildings are important for different reasons, so inspection and maintenance levels (as well as what fire doors are made of) should be tailored according to the type and use of the premises – something Fire Door Safety Week aims to highlight for building owners.

Your Responsibilities for Fire Doors

Compliance with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 lies with the ‘responsible person’, which is usually the landlord or building owner. Part of this compliance is ensuring adequate steps are taken to protect lives – including implementing safety measures such as fire doors. As part of this, fire doors should be inspected as part of a fire risk assessment, with any faults or issues rectified by a professional fire safety contractor.

There are several elements you check when it comes to your fire doors, including these five key areas outlined by Fire Door Safety Week:

• Certification – this can be found on the side or at the top of any real fire door
• Gaps around doors – gaps should be smaller than 4mm to keep smoke and fire from travelling between areas of a building
• Seals on doorsets – check these for damage to ensure they will expand or stop smoke in the event of a fire
• Hinge conditions – hinges should be intact with no screws missing or damaged to keep a door firmly in place
• Proper closing – fire doors should always close smoothly and firmly without blockages and should never be wedged open

Professional Fire Door Maintenance & Installation

One of the easiest ways to ensure you’re abiding by fire safety regulations and recommendations is to have fire doors fitted and maintained professionally. At City Fire Protection, our trained engineers have all the latest industry knowledge to provide precise and proper services in line with best practice.

As well as dealing with fire doors specifically, we can also carry out fire risk assessments to help inspect all the key areas of fire safety in your building – including the usage and condition of your fire doors.

To find out more about Fire Door Safety Week and what we can do to help you with all your fire door installation and maintenance requirements, simply contact our team today. Our expert team can discuss everything from fire rated doors for different buildings to what fire door regulations you need to meet.