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A fire door is a critical safety feature of any building as it acts as a barrier to the spread of fire, heat, and smoke, limiting its effect whilst allowing enough time for occupants to evacuate to a place of safety.

Buildings are compartmentalised to delay the spread of fire from one area to another. A fire door is a sealed door between compartments. A well-designed timber fire door will delay the spread of fire and smoke without causing too much hindrance to the movement of people and goods. In blocks of flats, the liability lies with whoever is deemed the ‘responsible person’ for that property i.e., the residential director, the freeholder or developer.

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What is the Fire Safety Act?
The Fire Safety Act 2021 is a law that came into force as a result of the Grenfell Fire Tragedy. Before this Fire Safety Act into force, flat entrance doors in blocks of flats may not have been considered during a fire risk assessment. The Fire Safety Act 2021 has removed the uncertainty around this and confirms that the flat entrance doors, as well as communal doors, are in the
scope of the Fire Safety Order.

This regulation will mean the Responsible person (the residential director, the freeholder or developer) must ensure annual checks of flat entrance doors along with quarterly checks of communal doors in multi-occupied buildings above 11 metres.

Buildings under 11m
The Fire Safety Act 2021 states that any building containing two or more domestic premises are within the scope of the Fire Safety Order. Therefore, Responsible persons for residential buildings below 11 metres will continue to have an obligation to ensure there is a general fire precaution. This means making sure all fire doors, including flat entrance doors, can provide
adequate protection.

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What are the requirements?
- Door Closers: Fire doors will have automatic closing devices fitted - spring-loaded self-closing hinges to ensure the door closes fully.
 

- Hinges: Because of the weight of a fire door and to prevent it from warping, fire doors are usually fitted with three fire door hinges. The current BS EN standard does, however, allow two hinges in certain circumstances.

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- Fire Door Seals or Fire and Smoke Seals: intumescent fire door seals should be fitted to the vertical and horizontal parts of a fire-resisting door. These seals are fitted into grooves cut into the door or the frame, or alternatively, can be surface mounted. As soon as the temperature in the vicinity of the strips exceeds 200°C, usually about 10-15 minutes after the start of a fire, the seal swells and seals the gaps between the door and frame. As smoke spread is an even greater threat to life and property than flames, particularly in the early stages of a fire, fire doors might also have to be fitted with a ‘cold smoke’ seal to prevent the ingress of smoke around the door edges (such fire doors would be specified as FDs fire doors). Exceptions apply where the leakage of smoke is essential for detecting a fire early. 

- Fire Resisting Glazing: Glazing may range from a small vision panel in a door to a glazed screen for maximum light  transmission and safety. Ordinary glass cracks when exposed to heat and is liable to fail in a fire. Fire resisting glass can withstand exposure to the heat conditions in a fire test for at least 60 minutes before it reaches a temperature high enough to soften it. This is mainly because, with clear FR glazing, nearly 50 per cent of the incident heat is transmitted through the glass by radiation. To delay the ignition of beading to 30 minutes, it is usual to fit a fire-resistant glass secured using a fire-resistant
glazing system. This will hold the glass firmly in place during normal use, but in the event of a fire, allows the intumescent material to expand, thereby securing and insulating the glass and protecting the surrounding timber.

See the below example of a quick-fire door check to see whether your door is up to current standards.

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30 Second Fire Door Checklist

1. Does the door close soundly against the frame?
2. Are intumescent strips and/or smoke seals present and in good condition?
3. Is the edge of the door or frame damaged?
4. Does the latch engage properly?
5. Are there any gaps larger than 3mm between the frame and the door?
6. Is the gap at the bottom of the door greater than 10mm or 3mm on a smoke control door?
7. Are there a minimum of three hinges and do they look in good condition?
8. Does the door have the correct signage on it?
9. If there is glazing in the door, does it look in good condition?
10. Does the door closer (if fitted) close the door properly from all angles?
11. Is the door wedged or stuck open? (temp img)

- Who is financially responsible to replace my door if it does not meet current standards?

While the responsible person has a duty to check flat front doors to ensure they are up to current regulations, it is ultimately down to the individual leaseholder to finance the replacement of their individual flat front doors should a replacement be required.

Any communal door which is deemed to be insufficient will be checked and the cost of replacement will, in most cases, come from the service charge or reserve fund.

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For more information please feel free to visit

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Gov.uk - Fire Safety Regulations, England.

 

London Fire Brigade, Fire Door Information

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What you need to know about the changes to Fire Safety Regulations 2022