The Importance Of Fire Door Inspection

In all commercial buildings, and in many other premises, there are mandatory fire safety regulations to be implemented and adhered to – and one of the most important aspects of this fire safety is the installation and maintenance of specially designed and manufactured fire doors. Fire doors are an integral part of a building’s passive fire safety system – here are some important aspects of fire door safety and fire inspection for you to consider:

Inspection Frequency

There must be a regular inspection of a building’s fire doors to ensure that they are fit-for-purpose at all times. The British Standard guidance recommends that all fire doors should be inspected AT LEAST EVERY 6 MONTHS – this is a minimum recommendation and, dependent upon the nature and use of the building – environments that are especially ‘busy’ or are subjected to ‘heavy traffic’, such as schools or hospitals – should be checked on a more regular basis. Once fire inspection has been performed there remains a duty of care to ensure that any defects, damage, or faults, discovered during the fire door inspection are corrected, mended, or replaced immediately for the door to be fire resistant and compliant with the minimum regulations.

Inspection Responsibility

All commercial and certain types of domestic buildings have a legal obligation to entrust fire door safety to a nominated ‘responsible person’ – this is often the building manager or perhaps the building owner themselves. Whomever is the ‘Accountable Person’ specified is directly responsible for the inspection, maintenance and upkeep of all the fire doors in situation and, as such, must ensure that a full fire risk assessment is performed, ensure that all fire safety equipment (including fire doors) is kept in an efficient working order and state of repair, and that the building’s fire safety procedures, features and processes are fully compliant with the legal standards.    

Inspection Process

The appointed Accountable Person has several aspects of the fire safety to consider:

• Installation – All fire safety doors must be installed by an appropriately trained person – the fire doors should be of the agreed approved specification for the space it occupies, and all the different elements of the fire door fixture should be in place, including the important intumescent seals and the relevant fire-retardant glazing and door hardware. It is always advisable to have a professional fire door safety expert install the doors for you.
• Maintenance – The aforementioned regular checks should be performed on all fire doors installed and all the individual elements checked including the door frames, to ensure there is no damage to, or defect in, either the door leaves or the frame itself. If the fire doors have glazed panels, then these must be checked for cracks or other damage and that any opening and closing devices are fully functional. The intumescent seals should be checked for any wear or erosion and that there are no gaps around the door frames.

Regulations

There were new fire safety regulations brought into force in 2023, partly in response to the tragic Grenfell Tower event – the Fire Safety (England) Regulations (2022) define the responsibilities and measures required for fire safety compliance of any residential buildings of multiple occupation. You should note that from October 2023, new fire safety guidance will come into force for all buildings formerly regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – it is the responsibility of the Accountable Person to familiarise themselves with any, and all new or altered recommendations in order to remain legally compliant with fire safety guidance.

Enfield Doors – for bespoke and commercial fire 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 soundproof 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.