Whether it’ s boiling the kettle, charging your phone or changing a lightbulb, it’ s second nature to be cautious when handling a potentially dangerous object. We learn these habits early and it helps foster a culture where the risk of common appliances, technologies and commodities are routinely recognised. However, there’ s another everyday item that often gets overlooked and doesn’ t receive the same level of attention: fire doors.

Fire doors and their hardware are purpose built to prevent the spread of smoke and fire in an emergency and are a key element of any building’ s passive fire protection system. Though, despite their crucial role in safeguarding lives, and the fact they are used just as frequently as many of the other everyday objects in our built environment, fire doors are all too often neglected, misused and poorly maintained.

Where individuals are likely to study the safety features of their personal products and how to correctly use them, why do the fire

doors found around our homes, workplaces and areas of leisure fail to receive the same level of scrutiny? The experts at Allegion UK believe this inconsistency highlights a deeper issue within fire safety practice, one that the industry must actively address.

A call for action

Safety measures are an integral part of our lives. As observant people, we review the condition of our charger wires, blow out candles and matches when we’ re finished with them and we closely check product reviews for the appliances we buy, all to reduce the chance of faults and fire and the danger it presents to the buildings we reside in. And when a product doesn’ t perform as it should, we act.

It would appear then that we live in a culture obsessed with functionality and safety, yet there is a worrying knowledge gap when it comes to the world of fire door safety. Fire doors are meticulously designed to serve as life-saving barriers and form the cornerstone of fire safety across

our built environment, yet, despite being used millions of times every day, they are often among the most commonly neglected and compromised safety systems in buildings.

When closed, a certified fire door will typically compartmentalise a space for 30 to 60 minutes, preventing the spread of smoke and fire and providing occupants with a critical opportunity to escape. Conversely, an ineffective fire door system can fail within minutes, and an open one is considered useless in a fire. During the closing action, a fire door relies on its many hardware components, calling upon hinges, locks, latches and door closing devices to secure it firmly in place. In a fire situation, not one of these components can fail and as such, doorsets are rigorously tested to ensure they meet necessary standards, conforming to UKCA and CE certifications and FD ratings.

What does compliance look like?

We’ re not simply talking about a safety feature then; fire doors are a legal requirement in all non-domestic premises and houses in multiple occupation( HMOs). However, individuals are less inclined to check whether they meet the right condition or standards once installed. Perhaps it’ s a case of visibility, where a broken or exposed wire screams danger, a fire door simply blends into its surroundings until it is needed.

Regardless, where building owners and designated responsible persons bear the legal responsibility for fire door compliance, everyone has a role to

play in ensuring fire door safety. Day-to-day, a fire door should function like any other door, but its behaviour in a fire situation is what separates it from the rest. A compliant fire door is tested, certified and labelled as a complete doorset and is designed to work in tandem with its fire-rated hardware components to:

• Close fully and securely from any angle, without sticking or slamming

• Latch into place, with the door remaining closed during a fire emergency

• Maintain integrity under extreme conditions, ensuring intumescent seals expand to close the gap between the door and its frame, restricting smoke and flames from spreading

Fire door hardware is not interchangeable. In fact, using incompatible components can invalidate a fire door’ s performance completely. As such, it is critical to remove any ambiguity surrounding fire door hardware, ensuring all components are specified appropriately, installed in accordance with the manufacturer’ s guidelines and maintained

routinely. With that said, questions remain over accountability and competence, with many unsure on the responsibilities associated with keeping fire door systems operational.

Routine responsibilities can save lives

In many cases, improved awareness and communication towards fire door safety can help mitigate risk. As people continue to dissect the safety of other everyday items, a greater understanding is needed concerning fire door use and compliance. With that, we must ask what more can be done to ensure fire doors and their hardware receive the same level of attention and care as other everyday belongings.

The first step is about fostering and filling knowledge gaps. Just because a fire door is visually present doesn’ t mean it will work, especially if it has been neglected, misused or it’ s fitted with hardware lacking the correct certification – a fire door certified for domestic use may not be suitable in a high-traffic commercial setting, for example. The industry must look to bridge the gap by providing resources