The terrible tragedy of the fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell has once again highlighted the importance of fire doors and their role in containing the spread of fire and allowing people to escape, writes Gary Amer, Chief Executive of the GAI (Guild of Architectural Ironmongers).
A correctly fitted and functioning fire door can help to suppress a fire by restricting the amount of oxygen available to it and will restrict the spread of fire – a closed fire-resisting door is designed to endure direct attack by fire for a specified period of time. This should restrict the spread of fire through the building, gaining time for active fire protection resources such as sprinklers and fire fighters to perform. It will also protect escape and continue to provide some protection for fire fighters entering the building.<br><br>In the immediate aftermath of the blaze, there has been speculation that fire doors at Lakanal House were missing, blocked or wedged open. Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee at The London Assembly, Jenny Jones has commented that even though the building’s fire doors had been renewed only two years ago, many were either blocked or wedged open because residents found them to be "heavy and inconvenient".<br><br>At the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers, our members are skilled at specifying the hardware – hinges, seals, handles, closing devices and the like – which make fire doors operate easily during normal use and save lives in the event of fire. If this work is carried out effectively, then there is no reason why fire doors should be heavy or difficult to open. In fact, a fire door scheduled with the correct hardware by a qualified and experienced Architectural Ironmonger should be simple and appropriate for anyone to use, young and old, able or less able. <br><br>Too often we see examples of fire doors which have been fitted with ironmongery which is either inappropriate or not fit for purpose, often as a result of lowest tender purchasing policies. But this should not be allowed to cloud the perception of fire doors which can – and do – save very many lives every year by containing and preventing fire if they are correctly designed and fitted with good quality hardware devised for the purpose.<br><br>Since 2006, responsibility for maintaining fire and escape doors has been placed firmly with the building owners and operators since the introduction of the RRO (Regulatory Reform Order) which came into effect in October of that year.<br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br>The RRO – which applies to England and Wales – covers the fire safety duties required to protect the "relevant person" – visitors, staff etc. Building owners must show that they have carried out a risk assessment on their premises – and this includes ensuring that fire and escape doors have the correct hardware fitted and, importantly, appropriately maintained. They must also be able to produce the documentation to show that the products are suitable for their application, proving that all parties have exercised due diligence in fulfilling their duty of care.<br><br>As the enquiries into this terrible tragedy progress, the role that fire doors did or did not play in the fire will doubtless emerge and the importance of correctly specified, installed and maintained fire doors and ironmongery, in saving lives, will without question, once more become apparent.
