Fire Door Maintenance
Everybody hopes that their fire doors will never be put to work, but it is incredibly important that they are well-maintained and managed so that, should the worst happen, they can do what they were designed to do. The purpose of a fire door is to restrict a fire and its smoke to one portion of a building, enabling people to escape and limiting property damage until help arrives. You need your fire doors to perform, should they ever be put to the test, and carrying out regular maintenance will keep them in the best condition in case they are ever needed.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, a nominated “responsible person” within every workplace must “ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices provided […] are subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair”. Fire doors are an important part of this maintenance schedule because of the vital role they play in protecting human lives and property in the event of a blaze.
When your fire doors are installed, you should be given instructions on how to use them effectively and how best to maintain them to guarantee long-term safety. This information should be kept safely and reviewed when needed. Safety checks should be regularly undertaken, at a minimum of every six months, although circumstances such as heavy use or a door installed in a relatively new building will call for checks every three months.
For the vast majority of the time your fire doors will be at risk of the normal wear and tear that any door is subject to. However, if the door is damaged, the consequences can be serious. This means it is important to ensure that there has been no ongoing damage caused to the door frame, the seal, or the door leaf itself.
The fire doors and frames should be checked to ensure that their shapes have not distorted, and that the gap between them does not exceed the amount described in your installation literature, usually 3mm. Any visible or structural damage to the door leaf or frame should be investigated and, if it is any more than minor surface damage then these components may need to be replaced. If you have glass panels in your fire doors, these should be checked and if any of these are cracked they will also need to be replaced. If a door is self-closing it should be checked to ensure that it closes when it is supposed to, and members of staff should be reminded that there should be no obstacles getting in its way.
Just like the importance of getting fire doors installed by reputable companies, it is also essential that any repairs that are carried out are done by certified and accredited firms. Cracks in glass panels or the door frame, dents in the door leaf, or badly fitted door seals can all compromise the integrity of the fire door as a whole, reducing its efficacy in the event of a fire. If smoke, heat and flames can escape as a result of this damage, then the amount of time the door is expected to offer protection for could be significantly reduced, increasing the danger for members of staff and the public, as well as the risk of damage to property.
