IMS Group is proud to support fire door safety week, a nationwide initiative to clue in the public about fire door safety information that could save lives.
IMS has committed to extending the week to a month to reach as many people as possible and raise awareness.
We decided to do our part by answering the internet’s most asked questions about fire doors.
Starting with the obvious: What is a fire door?
Fire doors are specially made to slow the spread of fire in a building. Each component of a door is fire rated and designed to withstand intense heat for a long time. Common fire door types are DF30, 60 and 120. The numbers relate to how long the fire doors withstood a fire before succumbing. It is mandatory to have fire doors in most buildings in the UK and falls under several fire safety regulations such as the RRO 2005 (Fire regulatory reform order) and BS-9999. Fire doors are an integral part of any fire protection strategy.
2. Can fire doors be left open?
During the spread of COVID-19 most will likely to prop open their fire doors to reduce the number of people physically touching door handles. However, this is dangerous. A fire door can only perform it’s task of slowing down the spread of fire if it is closed.
There is a solution however, smart door closers use audio filters to listen for alarms will close doors automatically with no need for programming. Allowing you to keep your people safe from germs and fire all at once. IMS Group can help you choose the best fire door solution for you and your building.
3.Who is responsible for fire doors?
It’s important to know who is responsible for fire door maintenance so there is a point of contact if a problem is observed. This is usually the building owner, landlord or designated ‘responsible person’ chosen by the former. This could be anyone in the building and they would be liable should a problem go unsolved. Think: facility managers, fire safety officers and maintenance teams. Sometimes the responsible person doesn’t know they are, which is why it might be a good idea to have a discussion with building management if your not sure who this is in your building.
This person logs issues with the doors as they come up, schedule maintenance regimes in line with regulations and secures contractors like IMS for fire door maintenance repair and replacement.
4.just what is a fire door inspection?
A fire door inspection or survey should take place roughly every six months according to BS-9999. A fire door inspection is more in depth then a fire risk assessment as it doesn’t just focus on the visual.
For example IMS Group conducts a 34 point check list on each door it surveys ensuring the greatest care has been taken to uncover anything that can pose a safety risk later on and to provide the best feedback for future maintenance or immediate repairs. If the fire doors in your building are due a check or if you want to talk about Preventative Protection maintenance (PMM) Get in touch with us today for a free quote.
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