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FIRESAFETY&SECURITY • 29
Fire door safety ignored
despite Grenfell tragedy
» » DESPITE THE SHOCKING
tragedy of the Grenfell fire in
London last summer, an online
poll has revealed that 50% of
tradespeople don’t feel confident
in advising customers on fire door
safety.
Despite extensive media
coverage about the dangers of
inadequate fire protection in offices
and homes since the disaster, less
than 20% of tradespeople polled
have seen an increase in demand
for fire safety products or parts
such as replacement intumescent
strips for fire doors.
The results are published
in support of Fire Door Safety
Week, held in the last week of
September, which aims to raise
awareness of the importance of
fire doors in saving lives.
The poll followed a national
survey of 2,000 adults across the
country, carried out by online trade
supplier IronmongeryDirect and
supported by the Fire Industry
Association. The results illustrate
an alarming lack of general public
awareness of the life-saving role
of fire doors which are a legal
requirement in all commercial, public
and multi-occupancy buildings.
A particularly disturbing outcome
was that 70% of respondents would
not know who to contact if they
noticed a problem with a fire door. In
addition, almost one in two people
surveyed admitted that they do not
know how to identify a fire door.
Ian Moore, CEO at the Fire
Industry Association, said: “Fire
doors are one of many essential
elements to keeping safe from
fire. In all cases, a suitable and
sufficient fire risk assessment
should be carried out by the
responsible person - usually
the building owner. A fire risk
assessment should determine,
through thorough inspection, any
potential risks or hazards so that
they may be resolved. If you are
worried about hazards and risks
from fire, you can always contact
us, the Fire Industry Association,
for free and impartial information
and we will be able to direct you to
an expert on the subject.”
This research highlights the
need for tradespeople and the
wider public to be more aware of
the essential role that fire doors
play in keeping them safe. Fire
doors are specifically designed
to withstand fire for between
30 and 240 minutes and, when
used correctly, they can make a
significant difference in saving
lives and protecting buildings.
In addition, 34% of people
nationally said they would prop a
fire door open to let in fresh air or
give easier access, among other
reasons.
According to the British
Woodworking Federation, the
organisation behind Fire Door
Safety Week, three million fire
doors are installed each year.
However, they remain a significant
‘34% of
people
nationally
said they
would prop
a fire door
open to
let in fresh
air or give
easier
access,
among
other
reasons’
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | SEP/OCT 2018
area of neglect and should be
regularly checked and maintained
by those responsible for the
upkeep of the building.
Managing Director of
IronmongeryDirect, Wayne Lysaght-
Mason, commented: “We are now
over a year on from the Grenfell
Tower fire and it is disturbing that a
significant proportion of the general
public appear to lack basic fire door
knowledge.”
The safety campaign says that
fire doors are often the first line
of defence in a fire and their
correct specification, maintenance
and management can be the
difference between life and death
for building occupants. Visit www.
ironmongerydirect.co.uk/fdsw for a
video guide on fire door safety.
ABOUT IRONMONGERYDIRECT
IronmongeryDirect has
been supplying architectural
ironmongery to tradesmen for
nearly 50 years. Starting out as a
traditional shop, today customers
can browse over 16,500 products
in the catalogue and online.