Door Industry Journal - Winter 2020

106 THE door industry journal winter 2020 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Fire Doors, Safety & Security Fire Safety is Still Crucial While 2020 has brought many new and pressing priorities, fire safety must never be overlooked. Pat Jefferies, Commercial Director at Abloy UK, shares his expertise on fire door compliance and provides advice on how businesses can find the balance between a range of risks. Keeping people safe is not a simple thing to do these days. Beyond standard measures such as social distancing, mask wearing and handwashing, access control systems and the correctly specified door furniture can provide essential protection too. System applications which were once secondary are becoming central, such as limiting the number of people who have access to an area to allow for social distancing or ensuring that only authorised employees can enter the building. I worry that many companies will feel they are between a rock and a hard place, weighing up one risk against another. After all, we’re being asked to limit the number of people who can safely enter a building while maintaining safe egress – all while policies, procedures and work rotas are constantly changing. But, in my opinion, September’s Fire Door Safety Week reminded us that there’s arguably a much bigger and constant risk to a building’s occupants. Previously, fire safety sat alone at the top of the risk list, the undisputed priority for anyone responsible for managing a building. That is until now, when we have other new and immediate priorities requiring our attention. I don’t want to diminish their importance – the measures are a vital way of building confidence and getting people safely back to work, but to be incredibly frank, you’ll care a lot less about any other risks if you’re trapped in a burning building. That’s why we must never, ever let fire door safety slip, and instead find the best solutions that combine touch-free, or minimal contact access alongside compliance for emergency escape. The pros and cons of touch-free access Many organisations are already looking into touch-free solutions which allow building occupants to minimise contact with germs, particularly on door handles. The technology is naturally on the increase and a very convenient solution, but specifiers and installers should be checking they are both compliant and integrated into the fire door system too. For example, propping open fire doors to allow for touch-free ingress and egress may be a low-cost and quick way to prevent door handle transmission, and in the short term it may feel like it has created a safer space. But if a fire should occur, one of the best defences to prevent its spread will be useless and the occupants will be endangered. However, there are a lot of cutting-edge touch-free technologies out there which, when specified and installed correctly, will give you the best of both worlds. They At Abloy, compliance is our top priority, which is why we offer free training and we never stop working on a project until we’re certain it’s compliant and safe. Speak to us if you’ve got any doubts and we can help you get the balance right. “ ”