Fire Door Maintenance – It’s More Important Than You Realise
When it comes to designing a property and looking at the safety aspects of it, you need to ensure that it meets all fire regulations as well as health and safety regulations. Fire doors are an integral part of homes, commercial buildings, residential buildings and industrial settings. They form a crucial part of the fire safety strategy and will ensure that the property and those within it are protected as much as possible.
It is essentially a life saving product but you shouldn’t just see them as a door because they are much more than that.
They Need to be Checked Regularly
Sure, once a door is installed, you might think that the door will remain there until it needs to be changed for whatever reason. While this is true, a fire door is slightly different and this is because it is likely to form part of your passive fire protection systems. As a result, it should be regularly checked to ensure that it functions correctly.
It is no different to your smoke alarms or your fire extinguishers, and they need testing regularly to ensure that a property and business meets all regulations.
A fire door has a job to do when a fire breaks out and it needs to perform correctly in order to slow down the spread of a fire. If that door has been damaged, incorrectly fitted or simply isn’t performing, then it is not going to do the job it is intended to do.
Regular checks will also ensure that your insurance remains valid, proving just how important it is to check them regularly.
It is recommended that checks are carried out every six months but for newly occupied buildings, more frequent checks will be required to ensure that everything is right. This is also true for those doors that are exposed to high traffic and are therefore more likely to suffer from damage.
What About the Law?
In fact, Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO/FSO) states that it is a legal requirement for all fire resisting doors and escape doors to be correctly maintained. This will ensure that they are fit for purpose.
It is important to remember that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which is also known as the RRO or FSO is not applicable to domestic housing but does apply to all other buildings. The law now states that the business or company that has control of the premises on a day-to-day basis is in charge of managing the maintenance of their fire doors.
Why Should You Inspect Your Doors?
Doors are often overlooked but when they are used regularly, they can develop problems or faults.. This can then mean that your passive fire protection system won’t do the job you expect it to. The individual inspecting the door should be competent, capable of spotting issues and identifying solutions to address the problems, only then can you have confidence in your fire doors.