Facilitating Fire Safety

A fire door The poor specification, installation and maintenance of fire doorsets can have devastating consequences in the event of a fire. Here, David Hindle, Head of Door Closer Sales at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland, advises on the key considerations facilities managers need to bear in mind when choosing fire doorsets for a site.

The correct specification, installation and management of fire doorsets is vital in ensuring a safe and useable environment for people, not to mention the damage fires can cause to property and valuables. Some of the statistics around fire safety in the UK are staggering. There are 20,000 commercial fires in the UK every year 1, with research suggesting that the economy has lost £1 billion in GDP and 5,000 jobs from preventable fires in commercial properties 2.

Facilities managers have a duty to help ensure fire doorsets are properly specified, managed and installed, and can meet the day-to-day demands that they’re subjected to. As the first line of defence in the event of a fire, a fire door keeps the fire and smoke trapped for a defined period, allowing time for people to escape or be rescued, while making the fire easier to tackle.

Rather than sourcing a fire door and the associated hardware separately, a best practice approach would be to specify a fire doorset, which covers the entire system. This typically includes – but is not limited to – the door leaf and its frame, intumescent and smoke seals, hinges, hardware, signage, glazing and the glazing system, door closer, and any fanlights or sidelights.

Fire doorsets are factory prepared, which means they are machined, assembled and prepped for any hardware – tolerances included – prior to arriving on-site. Plus, all components come from one source of supply and sit under one fire test certificate, field of application or assessment. All work is completed under factory production control and ideally audited by a third-party, thereby ensuring the complete compliance of the doorset at the point of production. The doorset is manufactured to either stock or tailored sizes and can be made to suit new or existing buildings. Critically, it is produced within the test data remit of the manufacturer.

In contrast, a fire door assembly is reliant on components and materials being obtained from several sources, and then being manufactured correctly on-site. This means the onus is then on those sourcing the door assembly to provide an end product that meets all the correct standards and demands, as well as detailing evidence of performance and certification.

Up To Standard?

Testing and certification of all products that can impact on fire safety is mandatory and through impartial, third-party accreditation. To meet the necessary standards, a fire doorset must pass one or a series of rigorous tests, as well as be properly certified and rated to withstand fire for a set period of time. This testing shold be conducted by an independent testing body, in accordance with the relevant British or European standards.

With the Fire Door Inspection Scheme finding 76 per cent of fire doorsets inspected in 2019 as not fit for purpose, ensuring these systems are up to standard cannot be underestimated. Many of the fire safety products used in Grenfell Tower were found to have not performed as they should, with a leaked BRE Global draft report noting only 17 per cent of the door closers installed in Grenfell Tower were present and working. Shockingly, 50 per cent of door closers installed did not work properly.

It is therefore essential that a thorough study is completed by the decision-maker to compare the expectations of each fire doorset – including all hardware – to make sure they are accurately covered by the certification issued by the third-party accredited body. Validation should not be based on self-certification or claims of compliancy.



Maintenance Matters

All fire doorsets must be installed in line with the manufacturer’s instructions and meet their testing stipulations. If not installed properly, there may be knock-on effects. For instance, if the installed hinges do not perform as intended then the door leaf itself could drop. This may then mean there are incorrect gaps between the leaf and the frame, locks are not aligned, or the door leaf drags along the floor. All of this means additional force is required from the door closer, so the door doesn’t operate as easily as it should, and so on.

Once installed, a fire doorset is subject to varying demands and pressures. Many commercial environments are busy ones, with many people passing through them every single day. Fire doorsets should be checked regularly as a matter of course, but particularly in buildings that have high numbers of people using their facilities. If neglected, these issues can cause fire control systems to fail.

Common fire doorset maintenance issues include damaged door closers; general wear and tear over time; increased gaps between leaf and frame; warping of door leaves; damaged seals or beadings; incorrect ironmongery being installed; and impaired hinges and latches.

Most specifications take into account the ongoing cost and management of an asset, and fire doorsets are no different. Consequently, they require a tailored maintenance programme, which considers how often and where within a building they are used, as this may have implications on the expected lifecycle of a fire doorset and its need for refurbishment, maintenance and even replacement. For example, a system installed in a high traffic route, which might be subjected to hard use or occasional abuse, will need facilites managers to implement a more frequent maintenance review than other installations. Furthermore, a regular, scheduled maintenance programme can help identify potential issues before they become so serious they might compromise safety.

To help meet this need, ASSA ABLOY has published a new best practice guide on how to specify, install, maintain and inspect fire-certified doorsets, which can be downloaded for free from www.assaabloyopeningsolutions.co.uk/en/whitepapers

The guide has been compiled based on the knowledge and expertise of ASSA ABLOY’s FDIS-trained inspectors, as well as insights and information from a range of third-party accreditation bodies and trade associations, including the Door & Hardware Federation, Fire Industry Association, and Secured By Design.

For more information on ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland, please visit www.assaabloyopeningsolutions.co.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 0845 223 2124.

1 IFSEC Global, ‘Fire extinguishers: your legal obligations’,
https://www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-news/fire-extinguishers-legal-obligations

2 Business Sprinkler Alliance, ‘£1 billion cost of warehouse fires to UK Plc’,
https://www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org/news/1-billion-cost-of-warehouse-fires-to-uk-plc/

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Facilitating Fire Safety