Why Are Fire Doors Important?

By Author: ajmfiresafety uk
Total Articles: 14
Comment this article

(*Why are fire doors important? Please refer: https://ajmfiresafety.com/2020/10/27/why-are-fire-doors-important/*)

It can never be emphasised enough that houses, apartments and commercial buildings, in fact, all buildings with access for the public and employees, for example, should offer maximum fire safety. Fire safety is not negotiable, and no chances should ever be taken with human life, and property as well, i.e., the building itself.
It is therefore imperative that precautions are always in place to ensure that, should a fire break out, property suffers minimal damage and human life is protected. Most responsible owners and managers of buildings and housing associations, and any individuals and/or entities acting as a body that represents owners in a housing or apartment scheme, for example, understand the importance of these matters; however, having laws in place to control such issues are often important.

Certain laws control safety aspects, also fire safety, which includes fire doors and other important aspects. In the UK the Regulatory Reform Order (the Fire Safety Order) of 2005, for example, is ...
... an important piece of legislation that helps control safety in all buildings open to the public. This includes having to make sure that all fire safety equipment and, inter alia, fire doors must be in good order and fit for purpose.

Managers and owners need to know that should they not comply; they face different forms of sanction which could include heavy fines and even prison sentences depending on the transgression. Safety equipment – also fire doors –must be in good working order and adhere to all-important fire safety aspects at all times; therefore ongoing maintenance to ensure that these doors are “fit for purpose”, is not negotiable.

This means that such doors and fire safety equipment must be inspected at regular intervals by a so-called fire door inspector, a professional with the necessary training and accreditation from leading bodies to ensure that all compliances in terms of clients’ fire doors are met. These inspectors make their services available to the public and owners/managers of buildings – they can be contacted via the internet where their services are advertised for the convenience of the public that can benefit from calling them in to inspect their equipment from time to time as is prescribed by law.
These prescriptive and regulatory issues are but one aspect in terms of why fire doors are important; there are other reasons too. Looking at practical issues, it should be clear to anyone that fire doors are in place to ensure that fires, once they have broken out, are prevented from spreading across buildings and rooms and cause damage to property and human life, as well as helping to contain such fires to one specific area or room.

This, too, helps to give those in such a space more time to escape, and rescue teams a better chance at removing those who may be trapped. And, of course, where these doors are installed, they help to protect the rest of the building from worse damage. It is important, though, that the doors are installed correctly and inspected from time to time to ensure they offer maximum protection.
A fire door that is fitted well and complies in every respect will indeed help to ensure that lives and property are saved and that owners can feel confident that they have contributed to saving lives and possessions. It is important, therefore, to employ the services of an accredited service provider to ensure your buildings’ doors are installed correctly and that they meet all safety requirements as stipulated by the relevant regulations, that they are maintained on an ongoing basis and that, when necessary, a professional affects any repairs.

It is also important that, if you live in the UK, British standards related to fire doors and safety are always adhered to. Ask a professional to test your building, for example, in terms of BS 476-22:1987 for fire resistance on non-loadbearing elements and terms of BS EN 1634-1:2014 +A1:2018 for fire resistance and smoke control issues for, among, fire doors.

The importance of fire doors can never be overemphasised, and neither can the input of a well-experienced, accredited service provider be overlooked.

About Us

At AJM Fire Safety we pride ourselves on the quality of every service we offer the owners of residential, commercial and industrial buildings – in fact in any building - where citizens and the public could be exposed to the dangers of fires breaking out. Our services are offered nationwide and include all aspects related to fire doors: installations, inspections, maintenance and training of those responsible for fire doors and for making sure that the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety Order) of 2005 is in place and its stipulations adhered to. Our experienced FDIS certified inspector aims to ensure that all clients’ fire doors meet all requirements in terms of which minimum safety regulations are always in place. For more about our services please visit https://ajmfiresafety.com/