Choosing Fire Doors for Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

• Fire doors are critical in hospitals. They contain fire and smoke to protect evacuation routes and buy time for staff, patients and visitors to reach safety.
• Fire doors should be certified to BS 476 or BS EN 1634-1 and must be installed by accredited professionals.
• Hospital fire doors need to be especially durable and include features like antimicrobial surfaces, anti-ligature features and observation panels.
• By law, fire doors must be regularly inspected and maintained by competent personnel.

Fire doors are part of a building’s in-built passive fire protection system. Passive measures work around the clock to reduce fire risks without any human involvement.

In an emergency, fire doors should close to stop the spread of flames and smoke. This effect is critical to compartmentation – the practice of dividing a building into separate fire-resistant sections or “compartments.”

Compartmentation is critical for three reasons:

• It protects escape routes
• It buys time for evacuation
• It minimises property damage

Fire doors are a legal requirement in all non-domestic premises. New buildings must have them installed per Approved Document B of the Building Regulations. Existing buildings must comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which requires the implementation of appropriate fire precautions such as fire doors.

There are more factors to consider when procuring fire doors for hospitals.

Because of their size and population, hospitals typically take longer to evacuate. Some patients find it difficult to move because of mobility issues or their condition, so they’ll be unable to reach exits quickly, if at all.

The right fire doors will give you the time needed for a full evacuation or help create fire-proof areas for critical patients to shelter in place while the fire is brought under control.

Hospital populations are also diverse. People will have disabilities or use mobility aids. Fire doors need to be accessible and easy to use for patients and staff.

Fire doors for hospitals need to be durable, too. With constant foot traffic in hospital corridors, fire doors are frequently knocked, kicked and slammed. Just one damaged component can compromise the entire fire door, so the entire doorset needs to be hard-wearing (and regularly inspected, a duty we’ll come back to).

Finally, hygiene and noise need to be considered. Fire doors should ideally have built-in antimicrobial features to prevent the spread of pathogens. They should also incorporate soundproofing features, especially in wards where controlling ambient noise is essential for patient care and comfort.

The practical considerations for hospital fire doors are also underlined by government guidelines specific to healthcare facilities.

The Health and Technical Memorandum (HTM) 05-01 and Health Building Notes (HBNs) reinforce the key requirements for fire doors in hospitals and healthcare facilities. These documents emphasise the following:

• Compartmentation – Fire doors must effectively contain fire and smoke, protecting evacuation routes and allowing for shelter-in-place options.
• Durability – Doors should withstand frequent use without compromising fire resistance, given the heavy traffic in hospital corridors.
• Accessibility – Fire doors need to be easy to operate for patients and staff, including those with disabilities or mobility aids.
• Hygiene and Noise Control – Antimicrobial finishes help maintain hygiene, while soundproofing features help prevent patients from being disturbed.

Under the FSO, every non-domestic premises needs a “responsible person” to oversee compliance. For hospitals, the responsible person is typically the chief executive of the trust, but this can vary.

The responsible person must ensure a fire risk assessment has been carried out for their premises and that all necessary fire precautions have been implemented. They must also ensure that all fire precautions, including fire doors, are maintained in safe working order.

Completing a fire risk assessment takes specialist knowledge, experience and training (qualities referred to collectively as “competence”). This is especially true for complex buildings such as hospitals. So, the responsible person can delegate duties to other competent parties. (Don’t expect to see the chief executive testing fire alarms any time soon.)

While it’s possible to delegate the duty, you can’t delegate responsibility. The responsible person holds final accountability for fire safety, including the procurement and performance of hospital fire doors.

When procuring fire doors for hospitals, the first consideration is fire rating.

Fire doors are rated for 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes of fire resistance. Most hospital fire doors should be rated FD30 or FD60, providing either 30 or 60 minutes of fire protection. Some locations may need higher ratings, however, so refer to your fire risk assessment.

Every part of a fire door must carry the same fire rating. Technically, the term fire door refers only to the door panel itself (called the door leaf). It excludes the door frame, hinges and intumescent seals. During procurement, be sure the entire fire doorset (i.e., the complete unit) is supplied and fire-rated to the same standard.

All fire doors must also be self-closing. An open fire door is useless, so every door must be fitted with an automatic closing device.

Beyond these basic considerations, you also need to think about features specific to hospital fire doors.

We’ve already mentioned antimicrobial features, such as silver-infused protective coatings.

Other features to look for include:

• Observation panels built low enough into the door for wheelchair users.
• Durable cladding for the door leaf, frame and hinges to absorb impacts from trolleys, beds and foot traffic and prolong the door’s lifespan.
• Hold open functions that allow a door to be kept open without overriding the self-closing mechanism.

All of these features should also carry the same fire rating as the door leaf.

Fire doors for hospitals also often need to fit wider corridors. “Leaf and a half” door designs are best for this. They feature two door leaves, one standard size and one narrower. The narrower door leaf is often half the standard width, hence the “leaf and a half” name.

Generally, the narrower leaf is kept closed until extra space is needed for trolleys, equipment or large groups.

Some patient rooms need to be both accessible at all times and fire-resistant. Anti-barricade fire doors offer fire protection while being impossible to lock.

Other doors must be built with anti-ligature features to prevent self-harm. These features are particularly important in mental healthcare facilities.

Certain fire door manufacturers provide components that are designed to give way if a patient attempts to rest their body weight on them. Other door designs remove potential ligature points, such as hinges, by incorporating them into the doorset in other ways.

According to HTM 05-01, hospital fire doors must meet specific testing and certification standards.

The guidance recommends doors be tested to British Standard 476 Part 22 or BS EN 1634-1. Compliance with these standards ensures that fire doors provide adequate protection in the event of a fire.

HTM 05-01 also recommends third-party certification schemes, such as CERTIFIRE or BM TRADA, which independently verify the quality and fire resistance of fire doors and their components. These certifications provide additional assurance that fire doors are fit for purpose.

However, certification alone isn’t enough to ensure compliance; fire doors must also be installed and maintained by competent people. There’s no single qualification or licensing scheme for fire door installation, but third-party accreditation is a strong sign of competence.

Post fire door procurement and installation, the responsible person needs to implement an inspection and maintenance scheme.

Regular inspections and maintenance are vital in ensuring fire doors function effectively in healthcare environments. Given the high demands placed on hospital fire doors, it’s essential to have a structured inspection plan in place:

• Routine Inspections – Fire doors should be checked regularly to confirm that they close securely and that no components are damaged.
• Maintenance Records – Detailed records of each inspection are necessary. They must note any repairs or adjustments to keep the door compliant with fire safety standards.
• Qualified Personnel – Inspections must be conducted by trained, competent individuals familiar with fire door requirements. Again, third-party accreditation is a solid indicator of competence. Certification from the National Association of Fire Door Inspectors (NAFDI) is industry-standard evidence of competency.
• Annual Audits – In addition to regular inspections, HTM 05-01 suggests an annual audit of all fire doors to verify that they meet current fire safety standards.

These measures help maintain the fire doors’ integrity, ensuring they offer reliable protection and support a safe environment for patients and staff.

Fire doors play an essential role in any hospital’s fire safety strategy. With hospitals often relying on dozens of fire doors in constant use around the clock, faults can easily go unnoticed. A single defect can weaken the fire protection for an entire floor or wing, posing serious risks to patient and staff safety.

This risk is why establishing a thorough inspection routine is so important. Our online Fire Door Inspection Training course helps build the expertise needed to carry out effective visual inspections. Approved by NAFDI, this course will give trainees the skills to assess fire doors and recognise when maintenance is necessary to ensure compliance.