Fire Doors After Handover: Why Inspection Matters Throughout a Building's Life

1 Introduction
2 Fire doors during the in-use phase
3 Inspection and maintenance
- 3.1 Changes following occupation
- 3.2 A fire door is a complete system
4 Records and building management
5 The role of building users
6 Continuing responsibility throughout the building's life
7 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Introduction

A fire door can be correctly specified, tested and installed at handover and still become unreliable later in the life of a building. Buildings are not static: doors are used repeatedly, finishes are altered, access-control equipment is added, door closers are adjusted, seals become damaged, and maintenance work can result in alterations or new penetrations. Fire doors therefore need to be treated as an ongoing part of a building's fire safety measures rather than as components whose performance is established permanently at completion.

[edit] Fire doors during the in-use phase

At handover, information about fire-resisting construction should be incorporated into the building's fire safety management arrangements. Those responsible for the occupied building need to know where fire doors are located, what function they perform, what level of fire and smoke resistance is required, and what evidence is available concerning the doorsets and their associated hardware.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to general fire safety in England and Wales and places duties on the responsible person to make suitable arrangements for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive and protective measures. This includes maintaining fire safety measures in an efficient state and in efficient working order. In Scotland, general fire safety is governed by separate legislation, principally the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The precise inspection and maintenance arrangements therefore depend on the jurisdiction, building type and applicable fire safety requirements.

A door that operated correctly at handover can subsequently be affected by normal use. Hinges can loosen, self-closing devices can become incorrectly adjusted, smoke seals can be damaged or painted over, and locks or access-control equipment can be installed without consideration of the evidence supporting the original doorset. The inspection and maintenance regime should identify changes before they materially affect the fire door's intended performance.

[edit] Inspection and maintenance

There is no single inspection frequency that is appropriate for every fire door. The frequency and depth of inspection should reflect applicable legislation, the fire risk assessment, the building's use, the location and function of the door, and the degree of wear, damage or alteration to which it is likely to be exposed.

Specific statutory inspection requirements apply to certain residential buildings in England. Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, where the top storey of a multi-occupied residential building is more than 11 m above ground level, responsible persons must arrange checks of communal fire doors at least every three months and flat entrance fire doors at least every 12 months. These checks are intended primarily to identify obvious defects and confirm that fire doors, including their self-closing devices, remain in good working order. They do not replace the wider fire risk assessment or more detailed technical assessment where this is necessary.

In other buildings and circumstances, inspection arrangements should be determined through the fire risk assessment and appropriate fire safety management procedures. Routine visual checks, more detailed periodic inspections and specialist assessments may all have a role, depending on the risk and the condition and complexity of the doors.

[edit] Changes following occupation

Fire door defects are often caused by the normal life of a building rather than by a single significant event. Doors in busy corridors can receive repeated impacts from trolleys, equipment and other traffic. Hold-open devices and access-control arrangements may be modified. Decorations can obscure or damage seals and identification markings, while changes to floor finishes can affect the clearance beneath the door leaf. Furniture or other objects can prevent a door from closing fully, and maintenance work can result in replacement ironmongery or other alterations that are incompatible with the original doorset.

These are management issues as well as component defects. Building management arrangements should provide a means for occupants and staff to report problems, together with a clear process for determining whether a defect can be dealt with through routine maintenance or requires assessment by a competent person.

[edit] A fire door is a complete system

A fire door should be considered as a complete doorset rather than simply as a door leaf. Depending on its design and application, relevant components can include the door leaf, frame, hinges, latch, lock, closer, glazing, intumescent materials, smoke seals, letterplates and other ironmongery. The compatibility and installation of these components can be critical to the performance of the complete assembly.

A door that appears visually sound can still have a defect that affects its ability to close, latch or resist fire and smoke. Conversely, a visual difference from a contemporary doorset does not necessarily mean that an existing door is inadequate. Assessment should take account of the door's age, construction, condition, intended function, applicable requirements and available evidence of its performance.

This is particularly important when assessing existing flat entrance doors in England. Government guidance makes clear that the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 were not intended to require existing flat entrance doors automatically to meet the standards applicable to new doors in new buildings. A door that satisfied the requirements applicable when it was installed may continue to provide adequate protection if it remains suitable, undamaged and properly maintained. The absence of modern features such as intumescent strips, smoke seals or contemporary certification does not, by itself, establish that an existing door is unsuitable.

Where the condition, construction or history of a fire door creates uncertainty about its adequacy, assessment should be undertaken by a person with appropriate competence. Specialist advice may be required where a detailed assessment, repair, upgrading or replacement is being considered. Alterations to fire doors should not be undertaken solely on the basis of appearance or generic guidance, because modifications can affect the tested or assessed performance of the complete doorset.

[edit] Records and building management

Finding a defect is only the first stage of effective fire door management. Buildings should have arrangements for recording defects, determining the action required and confirming that remedial work has been completed.

Consistent records can help identify recurring problems. For example, repeated failure or adjustment of door closers, or similar damage affecting doors in a particular part of a building, may indicate a wider problem that requires investigation rather than a series of isolated repairs. Records also provide continuity when responsibility for a building changes between facilities teams, managing agents, landlords or other dutyholders.

Fire door information should be considered alongside the building's wider fire safety information, including the fire risk assessment, records of alterations and maintenance, and information concerning relevant fire-resisting construction. Keeping this information current can help ensure that the condition of fire doors continues to be assessed against the actual building and its fire safety strategy.

[edit] The role of building users

Formal inspection should not be the only means by which fire door problems are identified. Staff, residents and other building users may be the first to notice that a door closer has failed, a door is being wedged open, a seal has become damaged or hardware has become loose.

Appropriate fire safety awareness can help building users understand the importance of keeping fire doors closed where required, avoiding actions that compromise their performance and reporting obvious defects. Building users do not generally need to undertake technical fire door inspections, but they can form an important part of the reporting and management process.

[edit] Continuing responsibility throughout the building's life

Specification, testing and installation establish the intended performance of a fire doorset, but ongoing management is necessary to preserve that performance. Inspection should therefore be connected with maintenance, alterations, the fire risk assessment and the way in which the building is occupied.

Changes to doors, frames, hardware, access-control systems, glazing, finishes or surrounding construction should be considered in relation to the fire performance of the complete doorset. Where existing doors are found to be defective or inadequate, repairs, upgrades or replacement should be based on appropriate technical advice and carried out by competent persons.