As a result of recent changes to the law, under the Building Safety Act, fire doors in multi-occupied residential buildings in England over 11 metres tall must be inspected regularly: flat entrance doors should be checked annually, communal doors need to be checked quarterly, while best practise for other buildings is bi-annual inspections. So whether you are a block manager, business owner, or a landlord, it is something you might be responsible for.
Summit Environmental team member, Ed Newey, breaks down what is involved in a fire door inspection, so you can understand what needs to be done – and why.
A fire door inspection is important to ensure that a fire door functions correctly and will perform during a fire. It involves the inspection of the different parts that make a fire door fire resistant and detects any problems with these parts.
The most common fire door is an FD30. An FD30 door will give 30 minutes of fire resistance, which, in most situations, will give sufficient time for a safe fire evacuation.
First, we measure the door and identify the door and frame material. FD30 fire doors are usually 44/45mm thick, and the most common material for fire doors is timber.
After this, we go through our checklist and inspect the door components to identity if they are compliant. Things we check in our fire door inspections include:
- Certification - Is the fire door certified to prove the fire door's ability to perform in the event of a fire?
- Door and frame condition - Are the door and frame in a suitable condition so that the door can perform to its desired fire rating?
- Hinges - Are the door hinges working and compliant, with three fire rated steel hinges?
- Closer - Is the door closer working and compliant so that the door can fully shut?
- Gaps - Are the gaps between the door leaf and door frame and threshold gap between 2-4mm?
- Seals - Is the door fitted with smoke seals and intumescent strips to prevent smoke leakage through the door?
- Glazing - Is the glazing on the fire door stamped to show that it will adhere to the BS EN 1363 fire testing standard?
- Signage - Is there a clear and concise 'Fire Door Keep Shut/Keep Locked' sign?
- Letterbox Seals - Are there intumescent letterbox strips present to prevent smoke leakage through the door?
All parts of the fire door must pass for a fire door to pass the fire door inspection.
When we undertake fire door inspections, we provide our clients with a clear written report, in plain English, identifying any aspects of the door which need attention for the fire door to be compliant to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants.
If you are responsible for any fire doors which need inspecting, our experts will be happy to help, please get in touch.
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