A Quick Guide To Fire Doors For The Healthcare Sector

In every public building there is a necessity and responsibility for safety to be of paramount importance and that includes stringent protection against any fire outbreak. This is particularly important in healthcare environments such as hospitals and care homes where there will be many infirm or elderly occupants with limited mobility for whom having to evacuate the premises holds greater risk and problems than normal. One of the mainstays of fire safety are the fire doors installed – here are a few aspects of important consideration with regards to hospital fire doors and fire doors in healthcare settings:   

What A Fire Door Does

Fire doors ensure that in the event of a fire outbreak it can be contained within the area of initial ignition – this prevents the spread of the harmful aspects of fire – the smoke, flame, and heat – to other areas of the building. Fire doors are manufactured with different resistance times – an Fd30 door will contain the fire elements for a minimum of 30 minutes, an Fd60 for sixty minutes and so on. All fire doors will be appropriately labelled so that they can be identified and recognised as such.  

Hospital Fire Doors

All doors in healthcare establishments need to be durable and hard-wearing – they will often be subject to damage from trolleys, wheelchairs, portable beds, and other equipment as well as being constantly exposed to considerable foot traffic. Hospital fire doors need to be easy to maintain – any damage to the structure or fixtures can render a fire door unfit for purpose. Damaged doors – cracks, holes, or gaps – will not only render them ineffective against all the harmful aspects of a fire outbreak but can also harbour harmful bacteria thus compromising hygiene and contamination safety in these vulnerable areas. Any damage to a fire door will need to be repaired, or the door replaced, immediately. In different areas of hospitals and some healthcare facilities the fire doors will also be required to serve other purposes – for example, lead lined doors may be necessary in rooms used for x-rays or where other medical scanning equipment is operated, whilst many areas of a hospital, such as operating theatres and many wards, benefit from soundproof fire doors to reduce noise and maintain quiet environments.  

Responsibility

Every public healthcare building will have a nominated ‘responsible person’ for safety and maintenance as laid out in The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It is usually the building manager or, in some cases, the building owner – it is their responsibility to perform risk assessments and maintain safety standards throughout the building including the fire doors. Hospital fire doors should be checked every six months at least for structural damage or deformation – any faults or damage identified should be rectified immediately. In these environments though, of such heavy use and the volume of traffic, fire doors should be checked weekly, and the main entrance and corridor fire doors should be checked monthly. 

Checks To Perform

As well as the visible structure and solid materials of the doors, all gaps, door leaves and frames should be checked along with the intumescent and smoke door seals (to restrict any spread of smoke from a fire outbreak) and any damage or potential compromise should be reported and replaced immediately. All fire doors should be officially certificated and approved, and clearly labelled as such. 

It is always advisable to speak with an established fire door manufacturer or supplier – their experience and knowledge of the requirements for these specialised doors will ensure you receive doors that meet all the legal requirements for these environments and have been thoroughly tested and officially certified for purpose. 

Enfield Doors

Enfield Doors, are an established bespoke door manufacturers in the UK trading for many years and manufacturing doors of all types to every environment across industry and the home. Their knowledgeable and experienced staff can advise you on all aspects of hospital fire doors including manufacture, installation, maintenance and security. If you would like further information on our company, please contact us and we will respond as quickly as possible. We look forward to helping you.