Ensuring Fire Door Safety After Installation

• By law, the “responsible person” in control of the premises must ensure fire doors are maintained in safe working order and fully operational at all times.
• Responsible persons include employers, building owners or anyone else in control of the premises.
• After installation, fire doors must be regularly inspected by a competent person. Faults must be fixed without delay.
• Basic routine fire door checks should also be carried out between inspections.
• Even for basic checks, you need to have skills and knowledge to recognise faults and know when to escalate issues to a competent professional.

Fire doors hold back flames and smoke, slowing the spread of fire through a building and protecting escape routes. This delay gives people more time to get out safely.

However, damaged or faulty fire doors will fail. If a door doesn’t close properly or parts are compromised, fire and smoke can pass through gaps and block escape routes. To prevent this, fire doors must be kept in good working order.

The consequences of neglecting fire doors were highlighted during the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The initial report revealed that many of the tower’s fire doors were in disrepair, so they failed to perform as intended, allowing smoke to spread rapidly throughout the building.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, fire doors must be properly maintained as part of a building’s fire safety measures. The law places a legal duty on the “responsible person” to ensure that fire safety features, including fire doors, are kept in efficient working order and good repair.

Article 3 of the Order defines the responsible person as:

• In workplaces – the employer, if the workplace is under their control.
• In other premises – the person or owner in control of the premises.

Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order sets out maintenance duties for the responsible person. It states that any fire safety precautions (including fire doors) are subject to a “suitable system of maintenance” and kept in “efficient working order and in good repair”.

Regular fire door checks and inspections must be part of your system of maintenance. Failure to fulfil this duty may result in enforcement action, including prosecution, fines or even imprisonment.

Those responsible for multi-occupied residential buildings, such as landlords, managing agents or building owners, have specific legal duties under the Fire Safety Act 2021. Under this Act, the responsible persons must ensure that flat entrance doors (which function as fire doors) are included in fire risk assessments.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which came into force on 23 January 2023, also require responsible persons to carry out annual inspections on flat entrance doors and quarterly inspections on communal doors in buildings over 11 metres.

Fire door checks are basic visual observations to spot clear signs of damage or failure. These include checking for gaps, damaged seals or doors not closing properly.

You don’t need qualifications to carry out these basic checks, but you must understand what to look for and when a fault needs to be reported or escalated. This requires a working knowledge of how fire doors function and what common issues look like.

Fire door inspections are a separate procedure. They’re more detailed and can only be carried out by someone competent.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 defines a competent person as someone having sufficient knowledge, training and experience to perform fire safety tasks properly.

You must check that every fire door is properly certified for fire resistance.

Look for a permanent label or plug, usually on the top or side edge of the door leaf. The label should show the fire rating, the certifying body and sometimes a unique ID number. If there is no label, or if the label is damaged or unclear, arrange for someone competent to assess the door.

After installation, fire doors must go through regular basic checks. These are not full inspections but rather visual checks to spot signs of wear or damage early.

Remember, you still need to have the necessary competence to carry out these routine checks. You must know what to look for and when to escalate an issue or call for a full inspection.

Different components require more frequent checks. A standard schedule includes:

• Door closure check – weekly
• Seal inspection – monthly
• Glass panel inspection – monthly
• Hinge check – monthly
• Gap measurement – six-monthly or annually (depending on risk)

Use a simple checklist to record all findings clearly. Act on any issues without delay to keep the fire door safe and compliant.

Below is an outline of what to do during a basic check. This is only an overview. On its own, it cannot give you the competence needed to check fire doors.

Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, self-closing devices must work properly at all times.

Check that the fire door closes by itself. Open it fully and release it. It should close completely within 25 seconds, without slamming shut.

Faulty closers must be replaced immediately.

Check the intumescent seals (which expand when exposed to heat) and smoke seals around the edges of the fire door every month. These seals help block the spread of smoke and flames through gaps around the door.

Look closely for any signs of damage, wear, missing sections or seals that are loose or poorly fitted.

Damaged or missing seals can seriously reduce the door’s ability to hold back fire and smoke.

If you find any damage, missing parts or loose seals, replace them straight away.

If a fire door has glass panels, inspect them regularly for cracks, chips or other damage. Damaged glass weakens the door’s ability to hold back fire and smoke. If you find any cracks or damage in the glass, make sure that it is replaced immediately by a certified installer.

Only fire-resistant glass that meets the relevant standards, such as BS EN 12150 (for toughened safety glass) or BS EN 14449 (for laminated glass), should be used in fire doors. To ensure it can provide effective protection, the glass must match the fire rating of the rest of the door system.

Fire door hinges must be securely mounted with at least three strong hinges. Loose hinges can cause failure.

Inspect hinges to ensure they are fitted securely with all screws in place and free from visible damage such as dents, oil leaks or signs of wear.

Use a gap gauge to measure. Gaps around the door should be 2mm to 4mm at the sides and top, and no more than 10mm at the bottom unless a smoke seal is fitted, in which case it should be no more than 3mm.

If gaps are too big or uneven, arrange for the door to be adjusted or replaced.

Fire doors must always be kept clear and unobstructed.

Never block, wedge or hold fire doors open. Obstructing a fire door prevents it from closing properly, which can allow fire and smoke to spread quickly through the building.

Make sure that furniture, equipment or rubbish is not placed in front of fire doors or along escape routes. Fire doors must be able to close fully and latch without anything in the way.

Always check that doorways and surrounding areas are clear during routine checks.

Fire doors must be clearly marked with the correct signs to meet legal requirements. Make sure that the signs are fitted at eye level on both sides of the door.

These are what the signs usually say:

• Fire Door Keep Shut – for doors fitted with self-closing devices.
• Fire Door Keep Locked – for doors without self-closing devices, such as storage cupboards.
• Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear – for doors connected to automatic door release systems.

If signs are missing, damaged or removed, they must be replaced immediately with signs that meet BS 5499 standards.

• Never paint over seals or labels.
• Only use fire-rated ironmongery.
• Report faults immediately.
• Use only competent people for inspections and repairs.
• Never remove a fire door without replacing it immediately.

A fire door can only protect lives if it is properly maintained and inspected. Damage, missing seals, poor repairs or faulty hinges can cause a fire door to fail in an emergency. The law requires responsible persons to inspect and maintain fire doors, not just install them. Regular inspections are necessary to spot problems early and keep doors working as intended.

We offer a comprehensive online training programme to support responsible persons in carrying out their fire door safety duties. It outlines what to look for during inspections, how to spot common faults and how to ensure compliance with fire door regulations.

Enrol in the course today and learn how to keep the fire doors in safe working order.