A building manager has difficult job to ensure they consider the safety of every individual that may regularly use or access their building and one vitally important consideration to make is how people will cope with opening or closing fire doors. In particular, self-closing doors can often prove difficult when disabled access is required, so make sure you make the right choice.
Fire Door inspection companies are available throughout the UK and they can help guide you in the right direction and to give suggestions on how you can make your building safe for everyone. Fire Doors Rites provide a comprehensive report which will help you identify the needs specific to your building.
A fire safety risk assessment, combined with a fire door inspection report, will help the person responsible for providing means of escape for disabled people (often called the ‘Building or Facilities Manager), to ensure that self-closing fire doors are either fitted with the correct hold open devices or free swing devices, close on activation of the fire alarm devices, devices that are designed to negate a requirement for a 20N opening force.
Fire door self-closing devices should not be set to a pressure that is too strong, which means that it may need adjustment, but it must be considered that fire doors are designed to hold back smoke and fire to protect everyone contained within a building in the event of a fire.
More information on all aspects of fire safety law and guidance can be found within the documents specifically relating to businesses on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-safety-law-and-guidance-documents-for-business
So to sum up, good design and high performance fire door protection are essentials when choosing the right fire doors for your building to cater for everyone who does now, or may in the future use it. Building legislation considerations, along with design and durability requirements, are a necessary requirement for the provision of a safe environment.
Fire Doors Rite have extensive experience in dealing with difficult access issues with the building environment and we can help you come up with the right solution, so contact us today if you are particularly worried about ensuring you are taking the right steps to a safer building in the event of a fire.
