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WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO RAISE FIRE DOOR SAFETY STANDARDS ?
Fire doors play an essential
role in preventing or inhibiting
the spread of smoke and toxic
gases and preserving the
effective compartmentation
of buildings . The Grenfell
Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report
revealed that fire doors in the
Grenfell Tower didn ’ t perform
as expected .
Speaking at the inquiry ,
expert witness Dr Lane said :
“ Fire doors are a crucial element
of the stay-put strategy ,
as they represent an opportunity
for weak spots to form
in the fire-resistant partitions
that separate a flat fire from
occupants either on that floor
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where the fire has started or
occupants in the flat above the
floor the fire has started .
“ Fire doors are , therefore
, a building regulations
requirement as a passive fire
protection measure . Faulty fire
doors mean faulty compartmentation
and compartmentation
is the primary basis of
the stay-put strategy .”
WHAT HAS DRIVEN THE ACADEMY ’ S LAUNCH ?
Following the Grenfell tragedy
, there have been changes
to fire safety regulation , including
the Fire Safety ( England )
Regulations 2022 regulations .
Enforced in January 2023 , this
legislation requires the responsible
person for multi-occupied
residential buildings over
11m to :
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• Carry out quarterly checks
on all fire doors in the
common parts .
• Carry out annual checks
on all flat entrance doors
that lead onto a building ’ s
common parts .
In response , FDM identified
an opportunity to help organisations
and the wider fire door
industry achieve compliance
while raising inspection and
maintenance standards . To
help raise standards , the
Academy ’ s focus is on the
importance of sourcing primary
test evidence and how to
interpret that evidence when
inspecting or manufacturing a
fire door .
WHY DOES PRIMARY TEST EVIDENCE MATTER ?
In the Grenfell inquiry , it was
revealed that 106 of the 120
doors in the tower had been
replaced and differed from the
product tested by the manufacturer
before sale including
the hardware .
Dr Lane said : “ If you want
to use the phrase ‘ getting
the door through the test ’ it
[ the hardware ] is a sensitive
business . Any piece of metal ,
locks , letter boxes may act
as heat spread route , flame
spread route , hot smoke route
and cause the door to fail .”
Sourcing primary test
evidence as part of door
inspections and maintenance
will ensure the correct components
have been installed and
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have not been substituted or
changed .
WHAT MAKES THE TRAINING ACADEMY DIFFERENT TO OTHER FIRE DOOR SAFETY TRAINING ?
The Academy offers
hands-on practical training in
a dedicated site ; made possible
thanks to the site ’ s design
and industry backing from a
range of different door manufacturers
and component
suppliers which have provided
their products free of charge .
These products have been
set up in designated rooms
enabling participants to learn
how to identify and fix potential
issues on different types of fire
doors and components . The
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centre is modelled on a floor of
a high rise building and behind
each ‘ flat door ’ is a component
room .
HOW MUCH HAS BEEN INVESTED INTO THE TRAINING ACADEMY ?
The facility forms part
of UAP ’ s new head office in
Dumers Lane which follows a
£ 750,000 investment .
WHO IS NICOLA JOHN ?
Nicola has spent 20 years
working with construction and
door manufacturers in various
management and director
roles . A former business consultant
, Nicola also ran her own
company , using her knowledge
to advise a range of organisations
on strategic growth and
development . For the past four
years , she has been working
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with UAP to provide specialist
leadership , management and
training guidance and is now
the managing director of UAP ’ s
two new businesses , FDM and
Armadillo Metal Coatings .
WHAT ROLE WILL UAP PLAY IN FDM ?
UAP is funding FDM but the
FDM business , including the
Training Academy , will operate
as a separate , independent
entity .
WHAT TYPE OF DOORS FORM PART OF THE TRAINING ?
Practical training is
provided on timber , steel and
composite fire doors , flat and
cross corridor doors , including
stairwell and riser doors .
WHAT IS GQA QUALIFICATIONS ?
GQA Qualifications is an
awarding body for specialist
sectors and occupational roles .
Its current qualifications cover
17 sectors including the Glass
and Fenestration Industries ,
Construction , Print , Automotive
Glazing , Polymers , Nuclear ,
Chimney Occupations , Paper ,
Meteorology and Print .
Qualification development
is carried out in accordance
with regulatory and Sector Skill
Council requirements , using
industry experts throughout
the development and consultation
processes .
www . uapcorporate . com
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