Fire Door Safety Week

This September we have pledged our support to the British Woodworking Federation's 'Fire Door Safety Week' to help raise awareness about the vital role fire doors play in protecting life and property.

Fire doors form an integral component in passive fire protection (PFP) and around 3 million are installed in the UK every year. They are fitted in domestic, commercial, and public buildings and are designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke for a specified amount of time, allowing occupants to safely vacate the premises and alert the emergency services.

The key objectives of the BWF's 'Fire Door Safety Week' campaign is to raise awareness of the critical role fire doors play and to highlight the consequences of poor installation and lack of maintenance. By providing the right information and creating more awareness, it is hoped building owners will assess the quality of the fire doors on the premises and deem whether they meet the correct specification, installation, and operation.

The main categories of fire doors are FD30 and FD60, which provide 30 and 60 minutes of fire protection respectively. These doors are tested as part of a complete installation using the test methods specified in BS EN 1634-1:2014+A1:2018 and BS 476-22:1987 by the manufacturers.

For a fire door to meet Part B of the Building Regulations criteria, it must be installed with the correct frame, intumescent seals, door closers, fire rated hinges and CERTIFIRE approved and CE marked ironmongery. When combined, these parts create a set that effectively contains fire and smoke for the aforementioned timescale. Failure to use these parts invalidates the certification and creates a fire door that is unfit for purpose.

If you already have a fire door set in your property or workplace that you suspect of being faulty, the British Woodworking Federation Group have compiled a 5-point checklist to make sure the correct regulation has been adhered to. This document, shown below, stipulates what to check and whether you should report it to the management or owner of the building.

Looking for a new fire door and set?

At C&W Berry Ltd, we recognise the importance of properly fitted fire doors and supply a large range of FD30 and FD60 doors, internal door casings, intumescent seals, door closers, grade 13 fire rated hinges, hinge pads, smoke seals. For bespoke fire doors with glazing, as well as non-standard sized fire doors, please contact [email protected] and include details of your requirements.

As fire doors are carefully engineered safety devices that form a crucial aspect of fire safety in a building, the correct installation of these items is pivotal to how they perform. It is therefore advisable to employ an approved fitter who is a member of an accredited scheme such as FIRAS to make sure the job is done correctly.

For more information regarding this campaign, please visit www.firedoorsafetyweek.co.uk