Fire Station Equipment Accessories News & Trends

Safe and seamless movement in our built environment hinges on accurately specified and installed door hardware, explains Russell Marks, managing director of Boss Door Controls. With millions of doors used each and every day, it’s important to recognize the details behind effective access and egress. Whether it’s the regular composite doors found in our homes, the electromechanical access points located in public settings, or the emergency exit fire doors that keep us safe in our wor...

The 2022 Building Safety Act, instituted in direct response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London, UK, has outlined a raft of new responsibilities that building owners and managers must adhere to, in line with many of the deficiencies identified post-2017.  With the UK’s building stock notoriously aging, many of us live and work in buildings that were built under outdated regulations and have not been updated for decades in some cases. As such there is an enormous amount of remedia...

When fire safety fails, lives are put at risk. In all buildings, reasonable steps must be made to reduce the likelihood and impact of fire, yet, many people remain unsure and indecisive toward fire safety practices and the roles and responsibilities associated with fire door safety. In view of this, in October 2023, new fire safety legislation was introduced to non-domestic properties in England and Wales. Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) has made a number of amendments to the...

Sue Corrick of Allegion UK explores the evolution of panic and emergency exit hardware, examining the specification and installation points that decision-makers must consider throughout modern applications. The swift evacuation of a building and its occupants is critical in an escape or emergency situation. For decades, escape doors and exit hardware have been co-dependent in their purpose of facilitating safe egress when it matters most. Elements of public safety In fact, exit hardware has b...

Working fire doors are a prerequisite for fire safety, but what differentiates them from regular doors Kirk Smith of Allegion UK outlines the technical features that form fire-rated doors as we know them. Research indicates there may be around 42 billion doors found throughout the world’s built environment. Every day, each of those doors plays a purposeful role toward the accessibility, safety and security of buildings and their occupants-but how many people truly recognize what they...

With new fire safety regulations around the corner and a renewed focus on responsible persons and coordination, Karen Trigg of Allegion UK discusses the significance of fire door hardware and why regular inspections and maintenance periods must remain high on the agenda. Fire doors and their hardware are often the first line of defense in the event of a fire. Working in tandem, they coexist as a core element of a building’s passive fire protection system, providing valuable protection and...

The construction sector has faced heightened scrutiny regarding its handling of fire safety in recent years. 2017’s devastating Grenfell Tower fire, served as a catalyst for reform on the testing of construction materials, building design, and construction practices, putting the focus back on occupant safety.  In April this year, prominent fire service providers echoed this sentiment. They emphasized the importance of comprehensive system testing over solely examining individual comp...

Fire prevention and fire safety have clear positive effects on the environment. However, it’s important for fire safety equipment to become as sustainable as possible to support this. This can include optimizations in the materials that are used, the design of products, or battery life, all of which can help to make fire safety equipment more sustainable. The priority for manufacturers in developing fire safety equipment is largely focused on safety, but in many cases, optimizations can b...

As recent news headlines have shown, the construction industry is still in need of major improvements to fire safety protocols and building standards. With new legislation on the horizon, it’s now imperative companies do all they can to guarantee end-user safety. So, how is digital construction helping to improve fire safety? Matt Ryan, UK Country Manager at PlanRadar, explains how some of the latest digital tools are helping to join the dots in safety inspection and compliance. High ri...

The risk of fire is thankfully not an immediate threat in most people’s everyday lives. But this has led to a nonchalant attitude where many fail to appreciate the true dangers posed by a fire situation. The pandemic has served to make matters even more complex, and has pushed fire safety on the back burner as facility managers (FMs) turn their attention to COVID-proofing the workplace. Safety at work is now more of a focus than it has ever been, but the race to ensure we can return to wo...