A new best practice guide on fire door safety has been published this week specifically for architects and specifiers.
Launched following Fire Door Safety Week to mark the tenth anniversary since new fire safety laws came into force in England and Wales, the BWF-Certifire guide provides all the basics in one simple guide, plus a range of useful checklists on selecting, installing, using and maintaining fire doors.
It accompanies a new infographic on the ‘Anatomy of a Fire Door’, illustrating all the most essential elements to this carefully engineered safety product.
Hannah Mansell, BWF-Certifire scheme manager and spokesperson for Fire Door Safety Week, says: “Fire doors are often the first line of defence for users of a building in the event of a fire and yet they remain a significant area of neglect. Subsequently, every year lives are lost or put at risk, and property unnecessarily damaged, because fire doors have been wrongly specified, fitted or maintained.
“There are many critical elements to get right in the construction of fire doors, and a host of regulations governing their manufacture, installation and maintenance. But a single mistake in specification, fitting or use can render a fire door ineffective or turn it into a death trap.
“Our Best Practice Guide makes it much simpler for architects and specifiers to get it right first time.”
There are about 3 million new fire doors bought and installed every year in the UK, the vast majority made from timber.
Fire Door Safety Week aims to increase awareness and education around this critical element of fire safety in every commercial, public and multiple occupancy building, drawing attention to specific issues such as poor installation and maintenance, and encouraging building owners and users to check the operation and condition of their fire doors and to report those that aren’t satisfactory.
