Fire doors are a really important element of your fire safety strategy. Used correctly, they stop fires from spreading through a building, giving people time to escape and the Brigade time to attend and potentially save your premises. If a fire door is properly made by a BWF certified manufacturer, with compatible parts, and certified by an accredited third party, it should hold back a fire for 30 minutes or more.
Getting the right fire doors in place is an important responsibility, though you will also need to consider fire detection and sprinklers. The components of a door — hinges, seals, handles and glazing — are as important as the door itself. This is because, in a fire, doors can warp, move and allow smoke and fire through the opening. The seals and the gaps between the door frame and the wall are really vital too. They also stop smoke and fire spreading as quickly. Property owners are required by law The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order to make sure premises reach required standards of fire safety.
Read our fire door advice for tenants, and find out how to check if your fire doors are safe. Find out more. If you are responsible for a property, it's likely that you need to make some fire safety precautions to keep the people who use it safe.
This includes almost all buildings, places and structures other than individual private homes — that's individual flats in a block or family homes. Property manager's responsibilities include shared areas in houses in multiple occupation HMOs , blocks of flats and maisonettes. These doors may have been in place for many years and met earlier standards of manufacture and legislation. However, this doesn't mean that they are now not fit for purpose, providing they are still in good condition they will still provide the service for which they were intended.
Modern doors are equipped with what's called intumescent strips and cold smoke seals. Where doors are replaced that are required to be fire resisting they should not be replaced by ordinary doors and the person replacing the door should ensure that the door is a fire door.
Absolutely, yes. Some fire doors are fitted with glazing — what's termed a 'vision panel', these are subject to the test procedure when constructed and you are not allowed to retrofit glazing by cutting the door unless this is done by a door specialist, the BWF-CERTIFIRE scheme will be able to provide further information if this is a requirement.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, you might be considering installing hygenic door handles. As long as these handles do not compromise a fire doors integrity or restrict the use of an escape route, they should be fine to use.
This is generally:. There is no legal requirement for the installation of fire doors to be undertaken by an individual with any specific qualification or accreditation.
However, the slightest gap or crack between the door and the frame, glasswork or seal can cause the fire door to become faulty and fall short of RRO requirements, therefore it is important that they are fitted by a trusted and experienced professional. A fire door frame is one of several components that make up a fire door. Door frames should be purchased from the door manufacturer, from a company licensed to manufacture them or via a BWF Approved Fire Door Centre.
There may be circumstances where fitting new frames is not possible or practicable. In these situations, it may be more practicable to fit intumescent seals into the door edge. As previously mentioned the gap between the door and the frame must be no more than 4mm. Fire doors must be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure they are fully functional should they need to be used. Checks should be carried out at least once every six months, more regularly for doors that experience high volumes of traffic and are more susceptible to damage.
It is beneficial to get a registered FDIS inspector to check your fire doors. FDIS inspectors have achieved a diploma in fire doors and have had their competence and knowledge independently assessed.
BS applies to the specification, installation and maintenance of fire doors, stating that a fire door should offer a similar level of fire resistance as the fixed elements of a building. BS should be adhered to when installing items such as Door Hold Open Devices to a fire door and is the standard by which such items are deemed to be effective.
BS is the fire safety code of practice for building design, management and use. The standard can be used to review existing buildings, buildings under construction, and extensions or alterations for an existing building. This standard can act as an assessment tool to ensure fire safety strategy remains robust. Many external fire doors are not actual fire doors, but instead fire exit doors with push bar handles.
These doors are governed by a set of fire exit regulations. Fire exits may be used as a normal door when the premises are operating under its usual circumstances. Read more here on the difference between fire exits and fire doors. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.
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Table Of Contents. However, before doing so, consider and check the following:. More key fire door facts are available in our Fire Door Section. Close search. Door Accessories Door Handle Packs. Do I need fire doors in my home? Some answers to our most commonly asked questions about fire doors We are often asked by home renovators, unsure whether they need to fit fire doors when either replacing their internal doors or building an extension.
What is a fire door? Building regulations stipulate that fire doors are required in the following key areas for domestic properties: A 2 storey house which has a door leading from an integral garage into the house New build or renovated domestic properties which have 3 or more storeys including loft conversions must have fire doors to every habitable room off the stairwell. For further information on fire doors and building regulations visit Fire Door Alliance I am replacing my internal doors — do I need to consider fitting fire doors?
However, before doing so, consider and check the following: If you are planning to use the existing door frames, check whether a fire door will fit.
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