Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 112 THE door industry journal summer 2023 Doorsets, Fire Doors, Safety & Security How Can Smart Tech Help You Meet Fire Door Regulations? Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, new legislation has been introduced to ensure that fire doors are not only safe at the point of installation but also for the life of the door. We speak to Richard Kowalski, Technical Manager, Doors Division, at Stairways Midlands, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of high-quality, high-volume stairways and doors, about the impact of the changes, and how new technology is helping maintain the ‘golden thread of information’ for fire doors, from their manufacture, through installation and into usage. Fire doors are an essential component of any building’s passive fire protection system. Designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke in the event of a fire, they have long been subject to regulations around testing and installation to ensure they’re up to this lifesaving job. But since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, fire safety legislation has been tightened and clarified and enhanced – including that relating to fire doors. The Grenfell Inquiry actually noted that the fire doors in the Tower did not, through damage and/or disrepair, act in the way that they should so that they prevent smoke and gases from spreading. So, among the new rules are requirements relating to the ongoing management and maintenance of fire doors to ensure that doesn’t happen again. New legislation From January this year (2023) The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made it a legal requirement for a designated ‘responsible person’ (usually the property owner or manager) in every multi-occupied residential building in England with storeys over 11 metres in height to undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors in common space, and, on a ‘best endeavour basis’, undertake annual checks of all flat entrance doors that lead onto a building’s common parts. This means inspecting the doors to identify any obvious damage or issues, looking for any alterations or damage to a door’s glazing apertures or air transfer grille, checking the door opens and closes properly and that the door-closer is sound, assessing gaps around the door frame and that seals and hinges are fitted correctly. When it comes to smaller buildings, The Fire Safety Act 2021 has also clarified that any residential building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises falls within the scope of the Fire Safety Order. This means ‘responsible persons’ have a duty to put in place general fire precautions, including making sure that all fire doors are capable of providing adequate protection. Keeping a hold of the golden thread To be able to inspect and maintain properly, clearly maintaining knowledge and information is key. Last year’s Buildings Safety Act 2022 emphasised this explicitly, setting out the concept of the ‘golden thread of information’ – making sure the information and the steps needed to keep the building and people safe are known now, and in the future, with clear lines of responsibility during design, construction, completion and occupation of high-rise buildings.
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