Fire door inspection service from Lorient

A fire door is an engineered safety device that is a crucial part of the passive fire protection of every commercial, public and multiple occupancy building. A fire door acts just as any other door in normal service, in a fire it takes on a critical role – to save lives and protect property. It does this by holding back the spread of fire and smoke through a building for a designated period, giving time for building occupants to escape.

A fire door is not just the door leaf. It is a complete assembly comprising: the door leaf and frame, any glazing, intumescent fire and smoke seals and ironmongery that is used on the door, such as hinges, overhead door closers, latches and locks. Fire doors can easily become damaged when they are in regular use; which may affect their performance in the unfortunate event of a fire.  And just like other life safety devices, such as fire extinguishers and alarms, fire doors and final escape doors need regular, stringent inspection, maintenance or replacement to ensure that they will perform as intended in the event of a fire.

In 2006, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force in England and Wales; transferring the responsibility for Fire Safety from the fire authorities, to whoever has day-to-day control of building premises – this is known as the ‘Responsible Person’. This person must take steps to reduce the risk from fire; consider how to contain a fire should one break out and ensure people can escape safely. They also need to be able to identify a Competent Person i.e. a knowledgeable, qualified professional who can undertake preventative and protective measures, such as Fire Door Inspections, if they’re not confident to do so themselves. Compliance with the RRO is a legal requirement; failure to comply is a criminal offence and can lead to prosecution, large fines and even imprisonment.

The British Woodworking Federation, through their Fire Door Safety Week campaign, recently undertook some research into the status of fire door maintenance, inspection and replacement programmes across local authority owned and managed housing in the UK. The BWF stated: “With the UK lockdown period forcing many people to spend more time at home, people without fit for purpose fire doors have been put at risk. There is a need for continued and urgent focus on ensuring the safety of all building occupants whether in local authority or privately-rented accommodation, workplaces or other building types.”

Operating across the UK, Lorient offers a professional and expert fire door inspection service. Lorient Fire Door Inspectors are fully qualified under the Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS); and have been assessed by Warringtonfire, an independent third party. Certificated to carry out the inspection of a building’s fire doors; Lorient Inspectors use an app to record findings throughout the survey and enable rapid reporting. A detailed report is provided, covering the condition and functionality of the fire doors; with necessary remedial action required. Lorient’s experienced team have worked on projects from social housing, apartments, schools and hospitals to large commercial buildings and MOD sites.

The image below of Lorient’s indicative furnace clearly demonstrates the startling difference between the fire resistance performance of an unsealed door; and one that has a correctly, specified & installed intumescent sealing system. It highlights the critical role of intumescent seals in the event of a fire; and how important it is for all of the components of a door assembly (not just the seals) to be inspected regularly to ensure its fitness for purpose.

For further information about Lorient’s Fire Door Inspection Services please contact 01626 834252 or email testing@lorientuk.com.

Visit the Lorient website here