Top 4 Considerations For Apartment Fire Doors In 2023

With new regulations coming into force in January 2023, it’s never been a better time for architects, contractors and building managers/landlords to brush up on their knowledge around apartment fire doors.

Residential buildings are regulated under a number of safety acts which set out the requirements for fire safety procedures and practices.

After years of expectation and demand from industry specialists, The Fire Safety Regulations 2022 bring changes which will put more responsibility on responsible persons to be more proactive in maintaining fire safety standards.

In addition to fire regulations, there are a handful of key considerations which must be made for apartment fire doors in 2023, in order to achieve current legislation. Here are just some of the main things you should bear in mind when specifying or maintaining fire doors within residential buildings.

1. Fire Regulations In Residential Buildings

New legislation comes into force in January 2023, under article 24 of the Fire Safety Order 2005. These regulations apply to any and all buildings that either house workplaces or serve as multi-occupancy residential buildings over 11m in height.

Under this new change, responsible parties such as building owners/managers and landlords must carry out annual checks of flat entrance doors, as well as quarterly checks of all fire doors in the main areas of the building.

Routine Checks Of Apartment Fire Doors

On a best endeavour basis, responsible persons must carry out more regular routine checks of their building’s fire doors. Annual checks of entrance doors, as well as quarterly checks for all fire doors in the common parts of the building.

This requires these parties to do everything that can reasonably be done to carry out these checks. Whilst the new wording is still a little unclear, we would ALWAYS recommend putting your best foot forward, to avoid legal action.

Educating Residents On Apartment Fire Safety

As part of the new regulations, building owners/managers and landlords must provide materials which to residents which aim to educate them on the importance of correct fire safety procedure. This information should be relatively extensive, demonstrating how to properly use fire doors.

This could be provided in the form of checklists or handouts which inform not to keep fire doors pried open, not to tamper with self-closing devices and the procedure for reporting any faults with apartment fire doors early.

2. Security For Apartment Fire Doors

Apartment doors must be accredited under relevant security accreditation bodies, to ensure they are suitable as a first line of defence. British security standards such as PAS 24 are given after the fire door is proven to have succeeded in a series of tests designed to attack the fire door.

When specifying apartment fire doors look for dual certification criteria of fire and safety such as the Q Mark UKAS Enhanced Security Door scheme. This scheme supports the testing requirements for Secured By Design which aims to reduce crime in housing developments by incorporating crime prevention measures at the initial design stage.

Never has it been more important than to forensically record each detail in the manufacture and installation process. It should no longer be permitted to accept unqualified manufacturers or installers or those not sharing the same accreditation certification.

Until now, it has always been the responsibility of the contractor to prove that doorsets have been manufactured and installed correctly. With new regulations coming into force, this responsibility is now transferred to the owner or landlord, who must maintain that responsibility. However, the owner or landlord are unable to do that correctly without a full and clear narrative of how the product was manufactured and installed.

3. Ironmongery & Locking Systems For Apartment Fire Doors

All door hardware must be CE marked, which ensures compliance with timber doorset certification. Essential ironmongery is what holds the door in place and therefore it’s important each product is correctly specified.

Our recommendation will ALWAYS be to specify doorset as a complete system from one manufacturer, to avoid the issues which can arise when value engineering doorset components from multiple sources.

Specifying & Maintaining Apartment Fire Doors

These are just a handful of things to consider when it comes to specifying or maintaining apartment fire doors.

As regulations change and the industry becomes more stringent to create safer residential spaces, it’s important that you reach out to experts who can advise on the manufacture and maintenance of apartment fire doors.

At RW Joinery, we specialise in the manufacture, installation, and maintenance of fully certified performance doorsets.

If you’d like to discuss these legislative changes or your project in more detail, feel free to talk to an expert today. Simply fill out the form below or call us on 0161 480 8722.