Fatal mistakes to avoid in fire safety
In all buildings health and safety for those who occupy and use the building is a major consideration and concern. The fire safety element is one of the greater concerns – all public buildings and many private dwellings must meet government and industry-set standards and guidelines in their construction and maintenance to safeguard people from fire risks and outbreaks. Unfortunately, however, some of these guidelines are not adhered to nor maintained correctly, leading to building damage, personal injury and even death.
Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid to properly protect people and property from fire outbreaks:
The use of fire doors
Firstly, to establish what a fire door is – bespoke fire doors are constructed of identified fire retardant materials and are manufactured and thoroughly tested to prove their integrity and performance in the event of a fire. Usually, internal fire doors consist of a strengthened core, compared to ‘everyday’ internal doors, and manufactured in different ‘time resistant’ standards – FD30 fire doors will resist all the harmful elements of a fire outbreak for a minimum of 30 minutes, FD60 fire doors will provide the same protection for 60 minutes and so on. These 60 min fire doors are commonly installed in public buildings and residential buildings of multiple occupation.
Wedging open fire doors
A commonplace – and potentially fatal – occurrence is the ‘wedging open’ of dedicated fire doors. Fire doors are only effective if closed whenever when not being accessed. Not only is it extremely dangerous but it is ILLEGAL – fire doors are designed to automatically close behind you so that, in the event of a fire outbreak, the doors will contain and slowdown all the harmful effects of smoke, heat and flame. If a fire door is wedged open, then these fatal elements will pass through into surrounding rooms and areas causing the fire to spread and reduce the time people may have to safely evacuate the building.
Ineffective fire door hardware
It is not just the core elements of a fire door that provide the protection – all the hardware with which the door is fitted must also be fire safety approved. Letterboxes, hinges, handles and door seals must be constructed of approved fire safety materials and installation – if they are incorrect and/or poorly fitted and maintained, then you increase the risk of breach in the event of a fire outbreak. Get professional advice and installation from an appropriate fire door manufacturer.
Damaged fire doors
Once professionally installed, all fire doors must be regularly checked and maintained – best practice guidelines state that inspection should be performed at least every six months. Your fire doors must always be in working order – consider those in the building with restricted mobility and the elderly for whom evacuation to safety is more challenging and a slower process – effective fire doors are vital to provide more time to egress the building! Any damage or excessive ‘wear and tear’ discovered through inspection MUST be reported and rectified as soon as possible – broken seals, ill-fitting hinges, damaged or dented door panels, and such all pose potential danger in a fire outbreak.
Improperly installed fire doors
Installing fire doors is not a DIY project – they need to be fitted properly by appropriately trained professionals – consult a door manufacturer who specialises in internal fire doors to supply and install these life-saving doors.
Missing self-closing devices
It has been known for self-closing devices on fire doors to be removed for ‘convenience’ – this is both a potentially fatal and illegal practice. Removing the self-closing devices compromises the integrity of the fire doors’ function – fire doors need to remain closed to work efficiently.
Blocked fire exits
Another common mistake with regards to fire safety is the blocking of dedicated fire doors and the passages to them. In the event of a fire outbreak people are instructed to head for the nearest fire door – if the passageway to the escape door is cluttered, or the fire door itself blocked, it will put lives at risk, especially those with any limited mobility! If you make your fire door inaccessible by cluttering the pathway (often people use the passageways for storage or staff ‘relaxation’ areas) then these obstructions may prove fatal for building occupants.
Secured fire doors
One of the most common – and certainly most dangerous – mistakes made with fire safety is the ‘securing’ of fire exits – many fire tragedies have occurred because of exit doors being locked and even chained and padlocked. These ‘security’ measures can, and have, proved fatal in public building fire outbreaks – these fire doors NEED to be accessible, and functional AT ALL TIMES.
Enfield Doors
If you would like to find out more about commercial doors or fire door safety in the UK, we can help. Our team of experts is on hand to guide you and give you sound and pragmatic advice based on years of experience and successful installations.
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.
