JUNE 2019 | 19
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
‘FIRE SAFETY MUST BE PRIORITY
IN NEW-BUILD HOMES’ URGES DHF,
FOLLOWING BBC INVESTIGATION
Tamworth-based trade association,
DHF (Door & Hardware Federation) is
emphasising the importance of making
fire safety an ‘absolute priority’ in new-
build homes, following an investigation
into potentially dangerous fire
safety issues in houses developed by
Persimmon Homes and Bellway Homes.
The findings, by BBC
Watchdog Live, highlighted that a
number of new-builds construct-
ed by the firms were sold with
missing or incorrectly installed fire
barriers, which are used to form
a complete seal between differ-
ent areas of a home, and prevent
the spread of fire. Without them,
experts say, fire and smoke can
spread five-to-ten times faster.
“The BBC’s Watchdog discov-
ered serious breaches that had
gone undetected during the con-
struction process, leaving homes
and lives potentially at risk in the
event of a fire,” explains DHF’s
Commercial Manager, Patricia
Sowsbery-Stevens. “In many new
builds, particularly timber-framed
buildings, fire barriers are a vital
part of fire protection and we
would urge house builders to ‘get
it right’ at the construction stage
and to have a workforce that is
trained in, and understands, the
importance of installing the fire
barriers required to prevent poten-
tial problems down the line. Ulti-
mately, responsibility for ensuring
that buildings are compliant with
Building Regulations lies with the
house builder.”
Following the investigation,
Bellway Homes stated that it was
‘committed to improvement’ with
regards to potentially flawed fire
safety issues in developments in
Kent and West Lothian, and that
mandatory training on, amongst
other subjects, fire stopping, has
been introduced for all relevant
construction staff.
Following the Grenfell disaster
in June 2017, DHF’s voice has
been one of the loudest and most
passionate in its call for third-par-
ty certification by a UKAS-accred-
ited body of manufacture, installa-
tion, maintenance and inspection
of fire, smoke and security doors,
in order to offer complete assur-
ance on their performance. With
a history and heritage dating back
to 1897, the federation is un-
doubtedly one of the most revered
organisations, widely respected as
the industry’s independent author-
itative voice.
Fierce advocates for appropriate
levels of training across all the sec-
tors that it serves, DHF continues
to place the importance of training
www.fsdss.co.uk
firmly ‘up-front-and-centre’. The
organisation works assiduously
with BRE Academy to offer fire
door training courses; this has
been central to its on-going fire
safety campaign.
Additionally, in March 2019,
DHF announced a high-profile
collaboration with Secured by
Design (SBD) and Fire Industry
Association (FIA) to publish a
guidance document on fire safety.
Named A Guide for Selecting Flat
Entrance Doorsets; A publication
for housing associations, land-
lords, building owners and local
authorities in England, the publi-
cation accentuates the key issues
of fire safety for those selecting
fire doorsets, recommending all
fire doorsets are factory-prepared
(as opposed to prepared on-site),
that all work be completed under
factory production control, and in
addition, audited by a third-party.
“Since Grenfell, the wider issue
of fire safety has been thrust into
the spotlight and we are delighted
that progress is being made in this
regard,” said Patricia. “We continue
to stress that the use of fire doors,
correctly installed and with robust
fire door maintenance procedures,
are an essential part of fire safety
and urge those in positions of
responsibility (such as house build-
ers) to ensure that they are not
only fulfilling regulations, as well
as legal and moral obligations, but
insisting upon appropriate levels of
training with regards to installation
and maintenance.”
For further information
about DHF, please visit:
https://www.dhfonline.org.uk
DHF represents all the key
players in the following
sectors: locks and building
hardware, doorsets, industrial
doors and shutters, domestic
garage doors and automated
gates.
With the ultimate aim
of maintaining and
raising quality standards
throughout the industry, all
DHF members must meet
minimum standards of
competence and customer
service. They all operate
within a Code of Conduct
governing standards of
workmanship, quality
assurance, training, safety,
business integrity and CE
marking compliance.