HARDWARE & SECURITY
ASSA ABLOY DOOR GROUP HIGHLIGHTS FIRE DOOR SAFETY ISSUES IN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
» DOOR GROUP , A UNIT OF ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland , is highlighting the lack of fire safety in education environments , calling for urgent action to improve fire door standards , after new Home Office figures show an alarming lack of fire safety systems .
Between the financial year 2022 / 23 , 673 educational buildings in the United Kingdom were affected by blazes . Additionally , these statistics also reveal that 627 of these establishments did not have a fire safety system in place .
Fire doors are one of the most important safety features in a building , and regular product specifications or dedicated fire door inspections are essential to fully ensure health and safety measures are met .
Doors in nurseries , schools , colleges and universities are subject to extremely high levels of traffic , and subsequently a higher level of misuse and abuse , which can then lead to functional problems resulting in non-compliance .
As a leading provider of compliant fire doors , Door Group emphasises the urgent need for enhanced fire door standards to safeguard the lives of students , educators , and staff members .
Robust fire door systems play a pivotal role in containing fires , limiting their spread , and facilitating safe evacuations in emergency scenarios . By advocating for stricter regulations , promoting advanced fire door technologies , and offering comprehensive inspections , Door Group strives to mitigate the risk of fire-related incidents in educational settings .
Fire Rescue Services attended over 622,000 incidents in the year ending
March 2023 , marking a significant 7.8 % increase compared to the previous year . Alarmingly , just over 1,000 school buildings are believed to contain combustible materials similar to those used in Grenfell , encompassing 923 school buildings and 80 university buildings .
Brian Sofley , Managing Director at Door Group states : “ Through our fire door inspections service , our BRE qualified engineers have found the level of compliancy in schools to be extremely low . In one school , for example , we inspected 164 fire doors and reported that 163 were not fire compliant .
“ The concerning presence of fires in schools stresses the necessity for comprehensive fire safety measures with a holistic approach . It ’ s not just about specifying compliant solutions , they need to be managed correctly with regular inspections and maintenance . This information should be accurately recorded , in line with the ‘ Golden Thread ’ approach outlined in the Building Safety Act .”
Door Group is committed to raising the standard of fire door safety in schools , providing a fully comprehensive inspection which can be carried out every three , four , six or 12 months to suit specific requirements .
Following inspections , Door Group then offer detailed reports containing advice and recommendations on necessary improvements , with the knowledge that identifying any potential issues that could impact safety and product performance can be lifesaving .
If any issues do occur , a tailored repair proposal is issued to include anything from replacement doors to a regular maintenance program . Door Group inspectors are BRE-certified and will ensure that all fire doors inspected meet all necessary standards and regulations .
www . assaabloy . com
Sources : 1 Home Office Official Statistics : Fire statistics incident level datasets : https :// www . gov . uk / government / statistics / fire-statistics-incident-level-datasets ( using data for categories - College / University , Pre School / Nursery / Infant / Primary School , Secondary School , Student Hall of Residence ) | 2 https :// www . gov . uk / government / statistics / fire-and-rescue-incident-statistics-england-year-ending-march-2023 / fire-and-rescue-incident-statistics-england-year-ending-march-2023
26
JULY 2024
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