Providing clear and simple guidance to residents on the do’s and don’ts of Fire Doors is as important as the installation and ongoing maintenance itself.
At FireDNA we believe that residents have a critical role to play in checking that their Fire Doors are working correctly. As such we wholly support the introduction of Regulation 10 in January 2023 which states they should ‘by law’ receive safety guidance, from the ‘responsible persons’ when they move into a multi-occupied residential building and again on the annual or scheduled inspection of their own front door.
This guidance should cover the importance of keeping doors closed and not wedged open, that doors and self-closing devices are not tampered with and that any faults or damage to doors should be reported immediately to the building owner or facilities management team.
The London Fire Brigade also provides some simple but important safety checks that residents can make if they suspect their Fire Door is faulty, these being;
• Look for a label or plug on top (or occasionally on the side) of the door. Without a certification mark, you cannot be sure this really is a fire door
• Check the gaps around the top and sides of the door are consistently less than 4mm when the door’s closed. The gap under the door can be slightly larger (up to 8mm), but it does depend on the door. Ideally, you should not see light under the door
• Look for any seals around the door or frame. Check they’re intact with no sign of damage
• Check all hinges are firmly fixed (three or more of them), with no missing or broken screws
• Check the door closes firmly onto the latch without sticking on the floor or the frame. A fire door only works when it’s closed. A fire door is completely useless if it’s wedged open or can’t close fully
LFB also strongly advises residents not to make any changes to their Fire Doors or carry out any remedial work or repairs, as this can damage them and make them less likely to work properly in an emergency:
• Don’t drill into your fire door or cut it in any way
• Don’t paint over the seals on a fire door
• Don’t replace the handles, hinges or any hardware. Always have repairs carried out by a qualified individual
See the full guidance and advice on the LFB website
