5 Step Fire Door Safety Check
Read on below for simple checks that anyone can do to make sure their fire doors are compliant and up to the standard required in the RRFSO:
Check fire door seals
Carefully check the door seals to ensure that they are in good condition and showing no damage; and that there are no cracks or gaps in the seals.
Good intumescent seals are a large part of what makes a fire door work. The seals swell up when heated, sealing any gaps and helping to prevent smoke from seeping through into other parts of the building.
Check the fire door certification
Every fire door should have a label or a plug to prove that it is a properly certified fire door, and reaches the standards required to protect the building, and more importantly, the staff.
If this certificate is missing, contact your health and safety manager, or your fire door supplier for more information.
Fire doors should have secure hinges
There should always be at least three hinges on a fire door. Check the hinges to make sure that they are properly secured to the door, and that all the screws are present.
Missing or badly fitted hinges could affect the performance of your fire door, and give less time for staff to evacuate the building.
Check the gaps around the fire door
There should be no gaps larger than 4mm around the sides of the door and at the top, once it is closed, and the gap at the bottom of the door should not be any larger than 8mm-10mm.
If you can see larger gaps anywhere, and if you can see light coming through under the door, then there is a possible problem with the fire door, and smoke and flames could potentially pass through the gaps.
Does the fire door close properly?
Check how the door closes to ensure that it works properly. If a good fire door is opened and let go, it should automatically close by itself, without anyone needing to push it closed.
Make sure that the door properly latches, and that the door fits properly in the frame. A half open fire door, or one that doesn’t shut completely will not do its job in a fire.
If you run through these checks and find any problems with your fire doors, report them immediately to your health and safety officer.
Correctly Fitted Fire doors really can save lives & property.
