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48 • FIRE SAFETY & SECURITY
ASSA
ABLOY
Backs
Fire
Door
Safety
Week
» » IN SEPTEMBER THE BRITISH
Woodworking Federation (BWF)
launched another excellent weekly
series of events as part of its
annual Fire Door Safety Week
programme.
This year saw the BWF make a
concerted effort to raise education
and standards in the construction
industry, along with improving
awareness of the importance of
correctly installed and maintained
fire doors with property firms and
landlords.
This year, ASSA ABLOY joined
in and supported the initiative by
distributing over 1,000 door gap
checkers free to installers across
the UK. The company also made
a donation to the Children’s Burns
Trust, who provide support for
burned and scald injured children
and their families, along with
running prevention and awareness
campaigns.
In addition, the company held
a seminar in conjunction with
West Midlands Fire Service at
their headquarters in Birmingham.
The event – ‘It’s Time To Talk
About Fire Doors’ – featured talks
from Steve Shoker, Fire Safety
Officer at West Midlands Fire
Service; Dan Cooling, Associate
at integrated building design
business One Creative; and Ian
Humphries, Planning Maintenance
Officer at the University of
Birmingham. The varied platform
covered a diverse range of topics
including how to specify fire doors
and an overview of fire door
maintenance.
MEETING THE CHALLENGES
With fire safety front of mind
following the tragic incident at
Grenfell Tower this year, the talks
discussed the challenges faced
by professionals responsible
for managing building design,
construction and maintenance,
offering invaluable insights into
how to check fire doors and their
hardware are properly installed
and maintained.
Representatives from ASSA
ABLOY UK also took to the
stage to outline typical issues
surrounding fire doors and a best
practice guide to specifying door
hardware, with opportunities
to answer key questions from
the audience following these
‘Initiatives
such as
these are
vital for
spreading
the
message
about the
importance
of fire door
safety.’
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | NOV/DEC 2017
sessions. Delegates received a
free copy of the new Fire Door
Guide, which gives detailed advice
about all aspects of fire doors,
their specifying and their ongoing
care.
Alison Aston, Category
Manager for Door Closers & PED
at ASSA ABLOY UK, said: “We
were thrilled with the turnout to
our event at West Midlands Fire
Service. It’s encouraging to see
so many professionals engaged
with how fire doors should be
safely installed, managed and
maintained, which will ultimately
help save lives.
“We would like to thank West
Midlands Fire Service for its
support in helping us to highlight
such an important issue, as well
as the British Woodworking
Federation, which ran such a
successful Fire Door Safety Week
campaign this year. Initiatives
such as these are vital for
spreading the message about the
importance of fire door safety.”