A fire door is a fantastic safety precaution that can help keep your employees safe and minimise the damage a fire can cause to your property. They compartmentalise the building to delay the spread of fire throughout the building. They also limit the risk of smoke inhalation, which is the number one cause of fatalities in a fire. However, fire doors aren’t always installed or maintained correctly which can result in injuries or even fatalities. If you are considering adding a fire door to your premises you need to ensure you are abiding by the relevant fire door regulations.

To help you, the team here at Safe & Secure Roller Shutters have put together this guide to fire door regulations to ensure your premises is as safe and protected as possible.

Why choose a fire door?

Apart from being required in most buildings, fire doors offer a lot of fantastic benefits to non-domestic buildings. Not only do they slow down the spread of a fire through a building, they reduce the spread of smoke from room to room, which can be just as much of a killer as the fire itself. A fire door can really help in saving lives, and save a building from irreparable damage.

Why do fire doors need to be regulated?

Fire doors are classed as a passive form of fire protection, as they are not electrically powered or need any sort of interaction to work – they only require routine maintenance checks as they are often regularly used. For example, if there is wear around the seals of the fire door or the hinges are unsuitable, this may disqualify your fire door from passing BWF Certifire. Having a fire door that is not properly fitted, renders it useless. Maintenance regulations ensure you can identify any potential problems and avoid risk.

Fire doors need to be regulated because aside from their safety benefits, they are still a functional and necessary part of a building. This means that there are a number of structural obligations the door must meet, covering functionality aspects such as:

• Sound reduction
• Ventilation
• Thermal efficiency
• Safety glazing

What are the regulations?

There are different regulations for fire doors that are being added to an existing building and the fire doors being built into a new building, so it is best to address these separately:

Approved Documents for new buildings

In order to help new buildings meet the minimum UK standard, building regulations known as Approved Documents were put together. There are many documents in this category that cover all elements of a door’s structure and features, so it is best to hire a trusted and authorised builder and a professional door supplier who can guarantee an approved door for you. Some of the relevant Approved Documents include:

• Approved Document B: Fire Safety ( this is the most important document with regards to fire doors and covers issues such as where fire doors should be fitted, how long the fire resistance period of the door must be, signage and the need for smoke seals)
• Approved Document E: Resistance to Sound
• Approved Document F: Ventilation
• Approved Document L: Conservation of Fuel and Power
• Approved Document M: Access to and Use of Buildings
• Approved Document N: Glazing Safety

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for existing buildings

The Regulatory Reform Act came into place in 2006 to replace many other pieces of fire safety law. This document calls for a Responsible Person to be assigned to carry out all relevant fire risk assessments in non-domestic buildings, as well as implement and maintain a suitable plan of action in the case of a fire. Risk assessments must be carried out to identify and remove all potential fire risks, including carrying out regular checks on the condition of your fire door.

According to Regulation 38, these checks should be carried out on all fire doors in the building every six months – or if the building is especially busy, every three months. Everything must be logged, including the time and date, details of the work carried out, and the results of the inspection. You can be a responsible person if you are:

• A business owner
• Landlord
• Facilities manager
• Employee
• Risk assessor
• Building manager

Responding to faults

Some people may feel they don’t know enough about fire door regulations to respond to faults, so you could employ a fire safety expert to carry out these checks. Any repairs or maintenance should be carried out by a professional to guarantee any repairs are properly installed. A log book should record all maintenance inspections and work carried out, including:

• The fire door must have proper certification, with the CE symbol attached.
• You must make sure that the fire door fully closes. You can test this by opening the door halfway and allowing it to shut without any extra pressure – if it doesn’t stick on the door frame or floor, then it is functioning correctly.
• Ensure there are no gaps bigger than 4mm on the sides and bottom of the fire door. Gaps in the door mean smoke can get in, which makes the door essentially useless.
• The door frame must be firmly attached to the wall and purchased from a specialist fire door manufacturer.
• Fire doors must be fitted with undamaged seals around the edges of the door.
• Fire doors must have an absolute minimum of three hinges firmly fixed which are free from metal fragments and oil leakage.
• Door closers installed at the top of the door must be fitted to ensure they automatically shut. There should be no wedges being used to keep the door open. You can install a device to keep your fire door open, but when the fire alarms sound they shut automatically – these are legal and safe.
• The latch on the door must work properly.

Safe and Secure Roller Shutters supply and install high quality fire doors and fire resistant shutters to ensure the optimum fire safety for your premises and your staff, providing up to four hours of protection from the heat of fires. Our exceptional steel fire doors also work by reducing the oxygen flow to the fire, assisting in putting the fire out and containing the damage while you wait for the emergency services.

We have over 30 years’ industry experience and an esteemed reputation as a trusted and leading supplier of high quality industrial door solutions to the Northern England and North Wales areas. Get in contact today for more information on any of our services – we’re always happy to help.