FIRE SAFETY
‘ The lowdown on fire doors ’
During a busy time for Fireco ’ s fire door services , we caught up with their Senior Commercial Manager , Alex Babbage , to ask him about all things fire doors .
» HI ALEX . WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU overseen since Fireco introduced its fire door installation service ?
Our fire door services have evolved from a conversation I had in the car with the Fireco CEO : “ Can we get to a place where we supply and fit doors ?” Fast forward nearly two years and we now have dedicated warehouse space for fire doors and extensive in-house training for our Fireco engineers . They are certified with recognised bodies ( including BM Trada , FDIS and BlueSky ) for remedial works and installation services .
Our installation service has expanded dramatically over the last 12 months . We ’ re now working with some exciting clients on multi-year projects to support their building compliance .
It ’ s great now that we can offer our door installation service to both our existing client base and a host of new clients including local authorities , especially since the release of our exciting new door inspection app DorTrak .
We ’ re supporting a number of local housing providers and property management companies with comprehensive door inspections as a starting point to understand what changes need to be made to make the fire doors compliant .
Fireco is recognised as being the manufacturer of very well-known door hardware , are you manufacturing doors ?
Fireco has been making Dorgard and other fire safety products for over 20 years . For fire doors we have partnered with third party accredited door manufacturers such as Performance Doorset Solutions and supply only third party tested pre-hung doorsets .
This means we can offer the best quality doors , with primary tested hardware installed under the BM Trada Installation standard . We supply full certification for both the doors , and the installation process .
Now that the new fire safety regulations have come into effect , what advice would you give to the Responsible Person regarding fire door compliance ?
The gov . uk website states : “ In all multi-occupied residential buildings , the regulations require responsible persons to provide residents with fire safety instructions and information on the importance of fire doors .” It ’ s normal for a fire door to become damaged over time due to high use and general wear and tear . However , sometimes the deterioration is caused deliberately , eg breaking or disengaging door closers .
By sharing knowledge with residents on the importance of fire doors and why they need to be closed , it could prevent them from causing damage and also help them identify if something is wrong with a door . There are some great sources within the fire industry such as the FIA , FPA , IFSEC and the BWF . As we ’ re in the business of offering fire door services here at Fireco , we also create plenty of reliable fire door content . Fireco ’ s blog section and webinar archive are great places to find more information .
What makes Fireco ’ s Fire door inspection service different from competitors ?
Our fire door inspection service is carried out using our own tailor-made app , DorTrak .
I ’ ve seen a number of report formats that don ’ t include key information such as door certification and ratings , and detailed reviews on door gaps etc . I also often see overly complicated reports that can make understanding and processing the data quite difficult for end users . Ideally the information contained can be passed to an accredited company to help provide options to improve compliance .
We sat down and spoke with a number of door inspectors to try and come up with a system that made inspecting doors more granular ; one that supplied data to the end user in a format that was clear , comprehensive and useful for third parties to offer remedial quotes .
With the push towards a more digital world for fire safety , we ’ re using a portal that we can update with the annual reports .
Tell us more about DorTrak , how did it come about ?
We were keen to explore how customers were using the data from fire door reports . Having spoken to lots of end users , and with the update to the regulations back in January , it was clear that the report needed to function as a tool to help clients fix doors .
We took some time to understand the most common issues with doors , and decided to design our own app that allowed better data inputs and more photos of the issues with doors .
Our report format is very detailed , and builds up a digital pass / fail portfolio for all of the components of the door : the doorset itself , any hardware and the closing action . DorTrak provides easyto-read reports with a detailed view option to review individual doors , as well as a summary view that collates any highlighted issues with all of the doors on a particular site .
The app does a lot of the work post-inspection collating information and provides it in a simple way for the customer to send to a third party for pricing for remedial works or replacements .
Also , we use RFID tags on the doors to help customers build a door location map within the app , helping tie in with Regulation 38 and a digital record for fire safety .
How can the Responsible Person keep up to date with all their sites effectively and make sure all doors remain compliant ?
Having a competent person carry out regular door inspections is key , then keeping records of these inspections comprises an essential part of your golden thread of information . If any
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SEPTEMBER 2023
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