Should Nurseries Have Finger Safe Fire Doors?
I’m sure at some time we have all accidentally caught our fingers in a closing door – and can all testify to the painful experience it is – especially as a child! Official research figures state that over 30,000 children trap and injure their fingers in a door every year – even resulting in some 1,500 children requiring surgery of some kind to repair the damage and in many cases, amputations are required! A child with a broken finger can miss up to six weeks of that term, so the injuries can have quite a disruptive affect upon a child’s educational development. These figures make a very obvious argument for some sort of preventative measure to be put in places where children are present – schools and nurseries especially need to be aware of, and be dealing with, these incidents and installing appropriate safety precautions. Here is some information on the safety measures available for these environments:
Injury Occurrences
Most of these ‘finger-trapping’ injuries occur on internal doors, usually on the ‘hinged side’ – and, surprisingly, are a common hazard of doors installed in these establishments for safety! Fire doors are especially heavy, and those installed with automatic closing mechanisms can easily catch people’s fingers, causing considerable pain and damage.
Door Finger Guards
The most effective weapon against these injuries is to install door finger guards – they are available to be fitted on both sides of a door, not just the hinged side, and will prevent accidental trapping of fingers. They make it impossible for children – or adults – from getting caught in those gaps that are usually so seemingly easy – and painful – for hands to find! These guards are available in a range of designs and colours, so can be fitted to doors in any environment without compromising the aesthetic appearance of the doors or looking too ‘industrial’ and clumsy. They are easy to fit and, although the heavier fire doors may require to be fitted with a ‘carrier’ to the door itself and the frame, they can be ‘retrofitted’ to any existing door in situation, automatically creating ‘finger safe doors’. There are a range of finger guard models and styles to select from, depending on your types of doors and the environments in which they are located – it is also worth considering similar guards for cupboards and windows in these educational buildings.
Indeed, in 2020 the UK Department for Education updated their mandatory requirements for new construction to include integral finger guards on all doors of any educational establishments being built.
Enfield Doors
For all aspects of door safety, it is always worth speaking with experienced fire door manufacturers and providers. Enfield Doors are long-established and highly respected fire door specialists in London – they can advise you on all aspects of door safety from the fitting of finger safe doors to the protective values of Fd30 fire doors, which provide up to 30 minutes of protection from the harmful effects of a fire outbreak, through Fd60 fire doors and other higher-rated protection fire doors offering the same containment and protective fire safety for different time periods.
