The annual UK Fire Door Safety Week campaign is running from September 20 to 26. Door Group – a unit of the product manufacturer ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland – is calling for higher standards of fire door inspections in public and commercial buildings.
Brian Sofley, Managing Director at Door Group, says: “Fire doors are one of the most important safety features in a building. Whilst providing access around the property they are a critical part of the fire compartmentation requirement.
“We understand the building industry is under constant pressure to drive down costs and deliver services quicker than ever before. However, specification errors, unresolved installation issues and poor maintenance of fire safety products can have devastating consequences.”
As the steel and timber door firm says, Dame Judith Hackitt’s Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, after the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017 suggested that there is a degree of fragmentation within the industry, which has led to ambiguity over where responsibility lies. Hence, the firm argues, it is imperative that those responsible for the property ensure life safety products have been independently verified, are regularly audited or certified and have been manufactured and installed by competent companies or individuals. It is only then that both buildings and facilities managers and occupants can have total peace of mind.
Brian adds: “We take the view that suppliers and manufacturers have a duty of care to their customers at each and every stage of a project, to offer a solution that is properly and unambiguously safeguarded by certification.
“Every person involved in a project should be aware of the responsibility imposed on them and should treat this as an opportunity to showcase their talents in delivering a quality service. Collectively, we need to ensure that fire safety is carried out holistically to ensure thorough due diligence and this includes end-users.”
Webinar
Door Group is offering a free webinar on the importance of fire door safety through its product compliance and inspection services on Wednesday, September 29, at 1pm BST. To register for the webinar go to: https://app.livestorm.co/.
Meanwhile ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland has launched a best practice guide on how to specify, install, maintain and inspect fire-certified doorsets in residential and commercial buildings.
Available to download at www.assaabloyopeningsolutions.co.uk/en/whitepapers, the ‘Fire Doorsets’ guide has been compiled based on the company’s FDIS-trained inspectors, as well as third-party accreditation bodies and trade associations, including the Door & Hardware Federation, Fire Industry Association, and Secured By Design.
The guide is aimed at architects and specifiers, installers, landlords, local authorities, building owners, and facilities managers.
