Fire Door Inspections
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will make it a legal requirement from 23 January 2023 for responsible persons for all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with storeys over 11 metres in height to:
1 - undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors (including self-closing devices) in the common parts
2 - undertake – on a best endeavour basis – annual checks of all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) that lead onto a building’s common parts.
The regulations will also require responsible persons to provide to residents of all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises (that have common parts) information on the importance of fire doors to a building’s fire safety.
Fire resisting doorsets are a vital passive fire protection measure and will be found in almost all buildings, providing protection to escape routes and areas of high fire risk for example. They are often subject to damage due to misuse or general wear and tear and should undergo regular inspection to ensure they continue to function properly.
Fire door inspections allow for remedial work to be identified and subsequently implemented to ensure the spread of fire can be minimised and provide building occupants with additional time to escape. A fire door inspection scheme should include in-house visual inspections and, where necessary, full surveys by a competent contractor.
Your Legal Duty
The Responsible Person should ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment has been undertaken and this will typically involve a review of the condition of existing fire doorsets. However, the scope of a fire risk assessment will not extensively cover all fire doors and frames. Sampling can indicate the presence of significant issues, such as incorrectly fitting doors, missing features (such as intumescent seals, if required) and obvious signs of damage, but a more extensive door inspection survey may be required.
Our fire door inspectors will conduct a comprehensive, non-destructive fire door survey and deliver a detailed report on the condition of the entire doorset/s for your property.
