Fire Doors: Driving up Safety Standards

Since the tragic events of Grenfell, the importance of fire door safety standards has been brought into sharp focus.

Value engineering, non-certified installations, and a severe lack of fire door inspections have long marred the fire doorset industry.

It’s because of this criminal disregard for legislation and standards that the industry is now pleading for building owners and managers to drive up their safety standards when it comes to fire safety.

We’ve just mentioned three key ways that we can all change our behaviours and processes, so let’s look into these a little deeper:

• Value Engineering
• Non-Certified Installers & Manufacturers
• Fire Door Inspection

The Dangers Of Value Engineering Fire Doorsets

The reality of fire doorset specification today is some specifiers are too focused on the bottom line and not on the bigger picture. Value Engineering can be described simply as: Saving Money, Not Lives.

A fire doorset is more than the sum of its parts. Within one doorset there are multiple components, from the frame, leaf, vision panel, and even the ironmongery. Each one of these components has a role to play in offering protection in the event of a fire.

If one of these parts is incorrectly specified you can completely invalidate the fire door’s performance.

The issue then is that specifiers may look for the cheapest components on the market at any given time. A frame from here, a door leaf from there…

Whilst each supplier of these parts may claim third-party fire certification and each would have been tested individually: are you delivering a complete fire-rated package by combining them?

Unfortunately, the answer is more often than not: No.

Each of these components would have been tested in very specific conditions, paired with accompanying components, and installed and packaged together in a way you can’t replicate.

Minor inconsistencies can have fatal outcomes, you must ensure the entire doorset you specify is fire tested as a whole. From the screws to the intumescent strips, it all matters.

To follow best practice, specify your doorset from one manufacturer who has endlessly tested their fire doorsets as a whole to ensure you’re achieving full compliance.

Non-Certified Fire Doorset Manufacturers & Installers

It might seem obvious because it is: using a non-certified manufacturer or installer during fire doorset specification will almost surely negate fire certification.

The most common occurrence we see is specifiers agreeing on the perfect doorsets from a certified manufacturer, only to say “I’ll get my guys to install them”.

Please, remember that you are specifying a life-saving product with a very real cause and effect attached to it. If you specify your fire doorset correctly, it can buy precious minutes in the event of a fire and save lives.

Always ensure your certified fire doorsets are installed by a trained installer who has been certified to industry standards. Look out for a Fire Door NVQ or accreditation by FIRAS or the BM Trada Q-Mark Fire Door Schemes.

Alarmingly 30% of fire doors researched by the FDIS in 2020 were subsequently condemned due to poor installation.

For best practice here we would always advise finding a fire doorset manufacturer who designs, manufactures, and installs the complete doorset. This cradle to grave certification ensures full compliance with industry standards and is by far the safest solution.

For a deeper look at fire door installation and best practices, check out the free Fire Door Installation Guide.

Strengthening Fire Doorset Inspection

In October 2019, following the events of Grenfell, Sir Martin Moore-Bick delivered a report with a number of recommendations after Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Enquiry, which he chaired.

Evidence was found that showed the doorsets ‘allowed smoke and toxic gasses to spread through the building more quickly than should have been possible.’

Of his recommendations, the most important and universal recommendation was for all building owners and managers to carry out urgent inspections on all fire doors within their properties, to ensure they complied with applicable legislative standards.

Regular fire door inspections should be carried out every 3-6 months to ensure certified timber fire doors are effective at meeting the minimum burn time requirement of 30 minutes.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) states that the most effective way to increase fire door standards is by third party certification.

This is why it is crucial that specifiers avoid value engineering, to specify a complete doorset that is accredited and tested thoroughly.

Whilst the required frequency for fire doorset inspection is not yet mandated by law, it is best practice to ensure full fire safety compliance during specification and at regular intervals after installation.

These inspections should always be carried out by regularly trained and registered professionals.

Conclusion

Driving up fire safety standards continues to be a key area of concern within the fire door industry, with many existing legislations such as the Building Act 1984 and Housing Act 1996 being challenged by new bills, like the Building Safety Bill.

These proposed changes will enact more responsibility on specifiers, building owners, and managers to ensure correct fire doorset specification from day one.

To guarantee correct specification and mitigate future risks, you should always use a trusted fire door manufacturer and installer, who can ensure cradle to grave certification.

The trigon of companies forming RW Joinery will take you through the specification, manufacture, installation, and maintenance processes within one certified and seamless fire doorset scheme.

If you’d like to discuss your project in more detail, why not talk to an expert today? Simply fill out the form below or call us on 0161 480 8722.