Doors & Windows
SMALL ACTIONS SAVE LIVES
Specification, installation and maintenance are critical to fire door performance, but there’ s another measure of fire door safety that is all too often overlooked: what happens to the door during everyday use. Sue Corrick of Allegion explores some of the most common end user concerns.
Correct specification, expert installation and routine maintenance are all prerequisites of fire door safety. These principles are well established and regulated within passive fire protection schemes, and on paper, help to demonstrate that a fire door assembly is capable of performing as intended in an emergency. However, in modern building environments there are additional factors to consider.
In reality, a fire door’ s effectiveness can quickly be undermined by seemingly minor everyday actions. To some users, briefly propping open a fire door, placing an object in its swing path or repeatedly using excessive force to close the door may appear harmless, but each can have an adverse effect on the door’ s ability to
perform its primary function. And so, for end users and those responsible for life safety, understanding the impact of these everyday behaviours is a crucial step towards maintaining fire door safety.
Why are so many fire doors propped open?
Propped open fire doors remain a familiar sight across the built environment, with new research from the British Woodworking Federation’ s Fire Door Safety Week 2026 campaign finding that, alarmingly, 38 % of Gen Z feel safe when
a fire door is wedged open. Whether wedged open with a doorstop, a chair or an ironically placed fire extinguisher, convenience is often at the heart of the decision. Yet, preventing a fire door from closing comes at a cost.
In truth, a heavy fire door may feel inconvenient to open repeatedly, whilst in some passageways an open door may improve airflow and the movement of people in a high-footfall setting. Nonetheless, fire doors should not be viewed as regular doors. When paired with appropriate, certified hardware, they are strictly designed to restrict the spread of fire and smoke and will compartmentalise a space for a specified period. However, they can only perform this function successfully when closed.
Many fire doors are located in busy entrances, corridors and escape routes, and as such, they may be operated thousands of times over the course of their service life. The repeated use of a door- especially if it is forcefully opened or closed against an obstruction- can accelerate the wear and damage of critical components, potentially affecting the way the door operates. Even in cases where a
40 NOVEMBER 2026 CLEARVIEW-UK. COM