40 • FIRESAFETY & SECURITY
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Once a door, always a door?
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FIRE DOOR EXPERTS LTD. IS A fully accredited specialist in the survey, maintenance, supply and installation of fire doors in both residential and commercial settings. Working across London and the M25 corridor, FDE has quickly established a reputation for excellence in this highly specialised field. Here, Commercial Manager Paul Dredge explains some of the issues commonly found on door surveys …
In commercial buildings, the regular, planned inspection and maintenance of fire doors is, arguably, even more important than the original supply and installation. Sadly, most people seem to feel that once a door, always a door and no more need be done. But, like most things, doors, their components and fabric do suffer from varying degrees of wear and tear, such that a regular routine of planned inspection and maintenance is essential. Each building should have a designated‘ Responsible Person’( as defined under the Regulatory Reform( Fire Safety) Order 2005) and it is their duty to ensure( amongst other things) that
the fire doors within the building are fully compliant and working correctly.
These pictures( all taken at one survey in August 2018) illustrate some common issues that don’ t appear obvious but each, on their own, is enough to compromise the documented fire-resistance of the door in question. Firstly, hinges that are not‘ fire rated’. The CE Mark is the best guide. But it is safe to assume that these hinges won’ t have fire intumescent pads behind them either( where doors are 60 minute rated and above). Secondly, the maximum allowable gap around a door( or between the two‘ door leaves’) is 3mm. In some cases, you don’ t need to measure to see that some work is needed. Most door gaps can be repaired by the addition of‘ lippings’ and easing and adjusting the door.
The third example is damage to the fabric of the door and the frame. In this case, internal‘ selfclosers’ had been replaced with externally mounted, overhead closers. But leaving a hole where the old closer had been removed, compromises the door, the frame and the smoke & intumescent strip around the frame. In some cases, the holes can be so large that repair is not possible and the door has to be replaced.
These are just three examples of issues related to the proper maintenance of fire doors. There are many more and these aren’ t always picked up on a Fire Risk Assessment. That is why engaging the services of a specialist company( such as Fire Door Experts) who can not only survey, report, maintain, supply and install fire doors but also provide nationally recognised accreditation for each step of the process, as well as a fully audited‘ end to end’ history of each door in a building, is increasingly the option chosen by building managers and‘ Responsible Persons’. Whether it be managers of residential blocks, NHS Trusts, schools, large international corporations or Government buildings, leaving it to the experts is the right thing to do after all.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL. CO. UK | SEP / OCT 2018