Fire Safety & Security
FIRE DOOR EXPERT ON HAND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
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HURST PLASTICS IS GETTING behind this year’ s Fire Door Safety week and encouraging the industry to spread the message about the vital role of correctly specified and installed fire doors in saving lives and protecting property.
In the run-up to this year’ s Fire Door Safety Week, which takes place between 25 September and 1 October, Hurst Plastics is inviting customers, specifiers and building owners to contact its resident fire door expert Howard Wilson to field any questions they may have surrounding fire doors.
Composite fire doors are subject to more complex legal requirements than standard pedestrian doors and specifiers are responsible for ensuring that their specification is correct.
Hurst Plastics has a team of fire door specialists to help specifiers choose the most appropriate products to suit individual applications and meet industry standards.
Hurst has campaigned to educate specifiers about the importance of using the correct closing devices for composite fire doors. Concealed closers are widely specified; however, some are not compliant to BS EN 1154 and as such are not suitable for all applications. It’ s important to be aware of the requirements of Part B of Building Regulations to ensure that the correct closing device is specified.
‘ the doors guarantee the highest levels of security’
The range of Hurst composite fire doors includes FD30, FD30S and FDSBD. Each door has been audited and certified by Warrington Exova BM Trada- an independent third party which assures the quality, performance and traceability of every component of the fire door. The fire door range has been fire and smoke tested for up to 30 minutes by Warrington Exova and each door conforms to BS476: Part 22: 1987. An FD60 door is also available for more demanding applications.
The doors guarantee the highest levels of security and satisfy the requirements of the Q-Mark enhanced security scheme. The doors also comply with PAS023 / PAS024 security accreditation and the requirements of Secured by Design.
The 44mm thick Hurst composite fire door leaf consists of a robust, high performance core, which incorporates fire retardant phenolic foam and a high-density hardwood perimeter to provide a full half hour fire rating. The core is faced in a GRP colour finished skin, which is outwardly indistinguishable from Hurst’ s standard composite doors.
Howard Wilson can be contacted at Hurst Plastics by calling 01482 790790 or emailing howard. wilson @ hurst-plastics. co. uk.
www. hurst-plastics. co. uk
BE CLEAR ON THE FIRE SAFETY ORDER
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SUPPORT HAS BEEN FLOODING IN for the Fire Door Safety Week campaign, including its calls for a publicly available register of Responsible Persons and third party certificated fire doors to increase transparency and accountability in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Hannah Mansell- BWF
The register would require the name of the individual who has legal responsibility for fire safety in a building to be registered on a national database. Their name and contact details would be prominently displayed in the building to help tenants report any concerns.
For all apartments and high-rise blocks fire doors are vital in passive fire protection. A fire door is designed to hold back fire, cold smoke and toxic gases, delaying the spread around a building and keeping the evacuation and access routes clear for the emergency services.
Under the Fire Safety Order, Responsible Persons have to ensure that a regular fire risk assessment( FRA) is carried out by a competent person and is documented. In all apartments and high-rises, the person or people in control of the premises will be responsible.
The FRA should look at all aspects of fire safety management, including active and passive fire protection measures, signage, means of escape and the specific fire plan procedures. Their responsibilities also include acting on improvement advice and creating the emergency fire plan for the building. Hannah Mansell, spokesperson for Fire Door Safety Week, technical manager at the British Woodworking Federation technical manager and chair of the Passive Fire Protection Forum, says:
“ Although the Fire Safety Order took effect over 10 years ago, our research shows that tenants don’ t know who to report fire safety concerns to. Even worse, when we surveyed those who are responsible for fire safety, half of them didn’ t even know or were unclear about their role. That’ s why the BWF is renewing its call for a publicly available national register of Responsible Persons.
“ By identifying the Responsible Person and providing their contact details, occupants become empowered to report any concerns they have about the fire doors in their buildings. This would also ensure that those responsible for keeping tenants safe from fire know their duty and are made aware of issues directly.”
www. firedoorsafetyweek. co. uk
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