Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk maintain designated smoke performances (i.e. S or Sa) when following the guidance given in BS 8214, which allows for a 3mm gap at the threshold in situations where fitting a threshold seal is not practicable. “It is the opinion of SBD that neither are acceptable in a ‘real world’ fire scenario. The former (taping up the threshold) proves nothing when the doorset is exposed to smoke in an apartment block and could therefore lead to smoke unnecessarily entering an area designed to be a safe haven. The latter (the 3mm gap allowance) has been independently proven to allow smoke leakage of up to 10.5m3/h/m – three times the allowance of 3m3/h/m in the current Building Regulations. You can find out more about a series of tests commissioned by the Intumescent Fire Seals Association (IFSA) in respect of this here: https://www.ifsa.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2021/04/IFSA-Fact-Sheet-02-v0321.pdf “As soon as we realised that smoke was at risk of not being treated in the same way as fire and security evidence, it was critical we sought to resolve this issue specifically for all Secured by Design Developments and by all doorset manufacturers recognised by us through our SBD Membership scheme. In early 2021 we secured agreement from all of the UK certification bodies working in this area to incorporate smoke control into their fire and security schemes for flat/apartment entrance doorsets. “With the safety and security of residents in mind, we have confirmed our requirements for all fire, security and smoke rated doorsets carrying SBD approval to the UK test and certification organisations - i.e. all smoke control tests - should be conducted with the doorset threshold un-taped, and furthermore the allowance of a 3mm gap under the door will also be unacceptable. Therefore, SBD will require all member companies with doorsets listed on their SBD schedule that are fire rated and that are required by UK Building Regulations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) to have smoke control properties for the intended installation - e.g. flat entrance doorsets to be certificated for the following attributes – Security, Fire and Smoke Control. Thus, all SBD Fire, security and Smoke rated doorsets will require a thresh detail that enables the doorset to comply with the Building Regulation maximum requirement for smoke leakage of 3m3/h/m. “SBD has committed to both promoting our requirements and to support other organisations lobbying for change in this important area. We are adamant that any doorset that carries SBD accreditation should be fit for purpose in all declared characteristics, but especially those that are life critical such as fire, security and smoke control. We are committed to saving lives and making homes safer places in which to live, work and play. “The ‘Guide For Selecting Flat Entrance Doorsets’ has been updated to include these new SBD requirements. You can have confidence in using this publication as an authoritative source of information, which will guide you through the complexities of an extremely important area of Building Regulations. The publication can be downloaded for free from the SBD website https://www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/ design-guides”. THE door industry journal spring 2023 Secured by Design The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into effect on 23rd January 2023, and will require ‘responsible persons’ to undertake annual checks in residential buildings with storeys over 11m in height (High-Risk Residential Buildings (HRRB). Secured by Design (SBD), the national police crime prevention initiative, has been a staunch campaigner for improved security in buildings for over 30 years. As a consequence of the tragic events of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, SBD announced that as part of its membership it was requiring doors that are either described as fire doors, or where fire performance is declared, implied or required, to have third-party certification for both security and fire performance. SBD have subsequently revisited the possible lifethreatening characteristics of fire rated doorsets and added a requirement for smoke performance, as asphyxiation caused by smoke inhalation is the most common cause of deaths in flats when a fire occurs. Therefore, SBD will require all member companies with doorsets, designed to be installed as the individual primary flat/apartment entrance /exit doorset and therefore required within UK Building Regulations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) to have smoke control properties for the intended installation, to be third party certificated for the following attributes – Security, Fire and Smoke Control. In addition, doorsets recognised must achieve certification for smoke performance in a functional state i.e. with all appropriate hardware installed to stop the ingress of smoke. SBD will not accept products where the thresh has been sealed by tape during the test (a practice that is currently accepted within the Building Regulations). SBD are adamant that any doorset that carries SBD accreditation should be fit for purpose in all declared characteristics, but especially those that are life critical such as fire, security and smoke control. You can find out more about this in the feature alongside. Jon Cole, Chief Operating Officer Secured by Design A regular column by Jon Cole, Chief Operating Officer, Secured by Design, the official police security initiative, which has been delivering a wide range of crime prevention activities across the UK for over 30 years and operates a product-based police accreditation scheme for security-rated products. Jon Cole
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mzg2Nzk=