Fire Door Safety Week

This week marks Fire Door Safety Week, dedicated to highlighting the essential role that properly installed and maintained fire doors play in protecting lives and property during a fire.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry made clear the crucial role that properly installed and maintained fire doors play in protecting lives and property during a fire. The inquiry’s findings revealed significant failings in fire door safety, with ineffective fire doors allowing smoke and toxic gases to spread through the building more quickly than should have been possible. This reinforced the need for rigorous inspections and maintenance across all buildings of any type not just residential.

At Sircle, we conduct Fire Door Surveys throughout the UK in various buildings such as hospitals, schools, offices, and commercial spaces. We find that about 75% of the doors we inspect have defects that compromise their ability to contain fire and smoke, potentially resulting in property damage and loss of life. This article highlights common issues and how professional fire door surveys can help you overcome them, ensuring your building is both safe and compliant.

Key Issues for Building Owners and Managers

As a building owner or manager, ensuring the safety of occupants and compliance with fire safety regulations is a top priority. Fire doors play a pivotal role in this, acting as a barrier to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. However, many buildings have issues related to fire door safety, which can lead to serious risks if not addressed.

• Regulatory Compliance: Navigating the complex landscape of fire safety regulations can be daunting. Fire safety standards are stringent, and non-compliance can result in hefty fines and legal liabilities. Many building managers struggle to keep up with the ever-evolving regulations, which can lead to oversight and increased risk.
• Maintenance and Inspection: Regular maintenance and inspection of fire doors are often overlooked, leading to wear and tear that can compromise their effectiveness. Fire doors are subject to frequent use and can suffer from damage over time, such as warping, faulty seals, or malfunctioning hardware. Without routine checks, these issues can go unnoticed until it’s too late.
• Lack of Awareness: Many building owners are unaware of the specific requirements and standards that fire doors must meet, resulting in potential safety hazards. This lack of awareness can lead to improper installation, use of non-compliant materials, and failure to address critical issues that could impede a fire door’s performance during an emergency.
• Operational Disruptions: Addressing fire door issues can seem like a disruptive process, leading to delays in implementing necessary safety measures. Building managers may be concerned about the impact of inspections and repairs on daily operations, fearing that these activities could cause inconvenience to tenants or disrupt business activities.

How Fire Door Surveys Can Help

Conducting a comprehensive fire door survey is a proactive step to address these challenges. Here’s how our services can support you:

• Thorough Inspection and Maintenance Plans: We provide detailed inspections to identify any faults or areas of concern. Our maintenance plans ensure that your fire doors remain in optimal condition, enhancing their longevity and effectiveness.
• Detailed Component Analysis: Fire door surveys involve a meticulous examination of each door’s components, such as intumescent seals, hinges, and glazing, to ensure they function as intended. This level of detail helps identify even minor issues that could escalate if left unaddressed.
• Risk Assessment and Documentation: Surveys include comprehensive risk assessments and documentation of findings. This not only ensures compliance but also provides a clear action plan for addressing identified issues. Detailed records and photographs are maintained to support ongoing maintenance efforts.
• Minimised Disruptions: Our surveys are designed to be efficient and minimally invasive, ensuring that your building operations continue smoothly while we enhance your safety measures. We work around your schedule to minimize impact, offering flexible service times that accommodate your needs and reduce downtime.

Get in Touch for a Safer Tomorrow

Don’t wait for a fire safety incident to highlight the importance of your fire doors. By scheduling a fire door survey with us, you can ensure that your building is safe, compliant, and well-prepared to protect its occupants. Our team is ready to assist you with personalised solutions that address your specific concerns and requirements.

Choosing the right partner for your fire door surveys is crucial. Here’s why Sircle stands out:

1. Expertise and Assurance: Our team comprises of experienced and qualified staff who specialise in Fire Safety Surveys. Sircle works closely with clients throughout each stage of the survey – providing clear advice to ensure the legislative requirements are understood, producing survey reports that set out the action needed, and project manage works to a successful completion.
2. Regulatory Compliance: We have a detailed working knowledge of fire safety legislation and the Building Regulations, ensuring that we can provide clear advice on requirements. We also carry out a Fire Compartmentation assessment to identify where Fire Doors are required, which often highlights that not all existing Fire Doors need to be, ensuring clients avoid unnecessary spend.
3. Independent approach: We provide a professional opinion on existing fire doors and only recommend replacement of fire doors if repairs are uneconomical or if we feel the doors cannot perform as intended.
4. Comprehensive Assessments and Advice: Our Fire Door Surveys follow a structured step-by-step approach using mobile-based technology to generate data and reports that inform the advice we provide on the next steps
5. Peace of Mind: We provide clarity on the actions needed to ensure your building is compliant with legislation. This clarity prioritises lives and property and maximises investment to avoid issues escalating.
6. Procurement and Project Management support: Following agreement of the next steps, we can provide support procuring repairs and replacements and project management to ensure the successful completion of works and signed off. We recommend that UKAS-accredited contractors are used to undertake fire safety work, and this is followed up with an audit to sign off the works.

Contact us to discuss how we can tailor our services to meet your specific needs and safeguard your property. Whatever building you own or manage, our knowledge and experience in fire door safety can provide you with peace of mind and a safer environment. Together, we can create a safer environment for everyone.

Sircle has a range of Fire Safety surveys to ensure you remain compliant, click here to find out more, or speak to us and we would be happy to provide some advice.

By Anthony Walker FRICS MIFireE, Director at Sircle