Door Industry Journal - Summer 2012

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 39 THE door industry journal summer 2012 fire & security OFFICIAL RULING COULD PUT HOTEL RESIDENTS AT RISK, WARNS BWF-CERTIFIRE SCHEME An official determination by Bob Neill, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), on the regulations surrounding fire doors in hotels could set a dangerous precedent if misread, the BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and Doorsets Scheme has warned. The ‘Determination on the suitability and sufficiency of a fire risk assessment in a hotel in respect of the adequacy of the existing bedroom fire doors’ was published by DCLG on 9 May following advice to the Fire Minister from the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Sir Ken Knight. The ruling concerns fire doors in a 223-bed hotel built in the 1980s, and the interpretation of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, also known as the RRO. It follows a dispute between a hotel owner (the ‘responsible person’ under the RRO) and a fire safety inspector (the ‘enforcing authority’) regarding whether it was necessary for the hotel to upgrade three quarters of its bedroom doors which had no intumescent strips or smoke seals. Such seals play a vital role in ensuring the integrity of a fire door set and creating effective compartmentation in a building so people have more time to escape in the event of a fire. The hotel successfully argued that, in its case, the cost of upgrading the doors would be disproportionate to the risk, given that there were various other fire prevention and protection measures in place. However, the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser did reinforce the importance of intumescent fire and smoke seals. He advises the Minister that any absence of seals on bedroom doors installed before the introduction of current fire safety regulations must be “recorded and justified” in the relevant fire risk assessment. He also states that, when the doors need replacing, proper consideration should be given to specifying replacements that meet the recognised standard. Peter Johnson, chairman of the BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme, said: “This determination has been made with regard to one specific site, and to one particular set of circumstances. The ruling should not be open to wider interpretation. “Another determination on similar issues was made four years ago and required the hotel to fit intumescent strips. This highlights how each case is treated as a separate issue. “If a distorted rumour gets out among hotel owners and other building owners that it’s ok not to maintain or upgrade your fire doors, this is going to put lives at risk. Unfortunately we have already seen examples of this message circulating within the hospitality industry.” He continues: “Hotel premises pose all sorts of challenges to the responsible person. It is important to remember that hotel residents will be in unfamiliar surroundings. They will be easily disorientated and less aware of escape routes than in many other buildings that they typically occupy. In this environment people and escape routes require greater protection, not less. And while hotels may argue that it’s disruptive and costly to meet current fire safety standards, I guarantee it would be far more costly and disruptive to have to deal with the business continuity consequences of a fire. If even just a room is out of action or a full corridor of rooms or a function room, then there is a cost implication to the hotel. “The BWF-CERTIFIRE view and advice remains unchanged. We believe that it is always advisable to fit fire and smoke seals to fire doors, based not only on the position set out in Approved Document B to the Building Regulations but also on the evidence of 15 years of regular testing of our members’ fire doors within the BWF CERTIFIRE Fire Door Scheme.” Peter Johnson also points to the worrying results of a survey by the UK’s Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS), looking at fire doors in hotels used during last year’s Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green party conferences. Although only a small sample involving a group of 17 hotels in Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester, the FDIS researchers found problems in almost every one. The 5 most common problems spotted in hotels were: • Ill-fitting doors in frames - 59% (10 hotels) • Damaged fire doors - 47% (8 hotels) • Fire doors propped open - 47% (8 hotels) • Incorrectly fitted fire and/or smoke seals- 35% (6 hotels) • Poor condition of fire and/or smoke seals - 35% (6 hotels) This research supported BWF-CERTIFIRE’s decision to set up FDIS in conjunction with the Guild of Architectural Ironmongery, and the launch of the FDIS Diploma in Fire Doors earlier this year – the first such qualification for facilities managers, building maintenance and safety professionals. According to the latest fire statistics from DCLG, there were 595 fires in hotels in Great Britain in 2010/11. The number of fires in hotels, guest houses and hostels has decreased since the introduction of the RRO and its increasing enforcement, but awareness of the regulations is still very patchy according to fire safety experts. The BWF-CERTIFIRE Fire Door and Doorset Scheme is marking its 15th year in 2012, and the successful labelling of more than 26 million fire doors. The scheme was established by a group of prime fire door manufacturers aiming to improve the standard of fire doors across the supply chain.