Checkmate Fire Highlights The Importance Of Regular Fire Door Maintenance Checks

Nobody expects a fire in their premises; however, when a fire hits the results can be catastrophic. Expensive repair bills, costly downtime and a delay in business operations all affect the bottom line and in the worst cases, it endangers lives.

The best way to protect people and properties is to prevent the spread of fire altogether. Checkmate Fire strongly recommends customers to perform regular maintenance checks of their fire doors to help reduce the risk of fire spread.

Importance of fire and escape doors

Fire doors are an important safety feature of any building in which people work or visit

Fire doors are an important safety feature of any building in which people work or visit, as they provide resistance to the spread of smoke and fire. This becomes particularly important in the protection of escape route.

In order to stay within the law, building owners must ensure that their fire safety measures including fire doors and escape doors are maintained as fit-for-purpose. Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order places a legal obligation on them to have ‘a suitable maintenance regime to ensure relevant equipment is kept in an efficient state’.

Checking and resisting fire and smoke spread

As expected, this not only refers to alarms, extinguishers and means of escape, but also the fire doors that protect escape routes by resisting fire and smoke spread and the escape doors used to reach a place of safety.

Thus, keeping fire doors in working order both internally and externally is considered to be highly essential. Not only does this help to ensure that buildings remain compliant, but it also reduces maintenance costs by catching defects early before a door needs replacing. Depending on the location, usage and footfall level of the door, home owners can choose the level of inspection for example:

• Weekly Check – Busy traffic routes
• Monthly check – traffic routes, main entrances and corridors
• Quarterly check – doors to offices, class rooms, student rooms, etc.
• 6 monthly check – all other doors

Inspecting key aspects of the door

Home owners can carry out some quite rudimentary checks such as checking that the doors still have their label

While Checkmate Fire can carry out a thorough door survey issuing a report of work required, which can be completed with certification provided on completion.

Home owners can carry out some quite rudimentary checks such as checking that the doors still have their label (on top of the door), check for gaps around the top and sides of the door are less than 4 mm when closed. The gap on the bottom can be slightly larger and it’s also worth checking any drop-down seals are fully functional.

Check for wear and tear

Home owners can also look for intumescent seals around the door or frame and ensure they’re intact with no sign of damage or painted over.

They can also check that all hinges are firmly fixed (three or more of them), with no missing or broken screws. Furthermore, home owners check that the door closes firmly onto the latch without sticking on the floor or frame.

Vision Panels

Finally, home owners should ensure that vision panels are intact and without gaps or holes in the beading retaining the glass. Checkmate Fire is accredited by BRE to carry out each key, critical element, of fire door services, such as fire door surveys, remediation and installations. It pays to get regular and frequent fire door surveys that lead to remediation rather than replacements.

Checkmate Fire offers a professional, experienced and quality service that provides home owners with the fire safety certification needed. The fire safety organization also provides fully LPCB accredited surveys, remediation and necessary installations that should be carried out periodically at least every six months.