Fire Door Inspections and Maintenance

Fire door inspections and maintenance are both proactive measures to help you comply with the statutory law pertaining to the duties of the responsible person for fire safety.

ClearView are a UKAS certified fire door company and a passive fire protection specialist. Our work fire door work is audited to the highest industry compliance standards by the International fire consultants. We maintain all types of fire doors including FD30 fire doors, FD60 fire doors, internal fire doors and external fire doors respectively.

As part of our fire door inspections, we provide a full report per door including photographs of any defects. The maintenance includes checking the serviceability of all fire door components including signage, ironmongery, door leaves, door frames, seals. We also utilise an evaluation of critical spares components so if issues are raised, replacement components can be installed at much cheaper cost with less down time on the fire door assets.

By choosing an accredited and certified company to maintain your fire doors, you can be assured that your fire doors are being regularly checked in accordance with the  manufacturer guidelines and current statutory fire legislation.

If your fire doors are not maintained by a competent third party, you may be in breach of statutory law. This could result in criminal proceedings under corporate liability in the event of a fire. It is important that fire door regulations and the duties of the responsible person are understood regarding  the requirement for fire door inspection and maintenance.

Under UK statutory law, fire doors must be maintained as stated in The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 You are here: UK Statutory Instruments 2005 No. 1541 PART 2 Article 17 “subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair”. The responsibility for ensuring that maintenance is carried out, lies with the building owner or responsible person.

Use our FREE Fire Door Inspection checklist to ensure your fire doors are up to standard

Fire doors should be inspected on a monthly basis as part of the building(s) fire safety strategy. These checks are often carried out by a facilities manager or a competent person, such as a fire warden or fire marshal. The aim of the checks is to ensure that defective fire door sets are identified so that they can be fixed as part of a routine fire door maintenance by a certified fire door specialist.

Common fire door inspection failures, such as gaps over 3mm between the door and the frame mean that smoke ingress could happen in the event of a fire. A minor adjustment to the door could potentially fix this issue thus achieving statutory compliance, cost savings and peace of mind.

Other failures are damaged or missing intumescent seals on internal doors, non-fire rated fittings and such as closers and letter boxes and non fire rated glass installed. These failure items decrease the integrity of the doors and are often the point of failure in a fire.

ClearView is certified under the IFC to carry out the repair, remediation, installation and maintenance of fire doors and frames.

For a fire door to maintain integrity and perform as required in the event of a fire, all fire door repairs must include a set of industry-approved repair techniques to restore the fire door’s integrity.

Our fire door surveys, carried out by our fully qualified engineers, will highlight any defaults in the door and determine whether we will repair or replace your fire doors. On average, 71% of our fire door installation works are eligible for remediation. We will only replace the fire door if deemed necessary to ensure compliance and our clients’ safety.

The best way to ensure your fire doors remain fully compliant is with the right maintenance package. ClearView provide fire door maintenance services to clients offering bespoke fire door maintenance packages to suit the unique requirements of your premises. We aim to provide cost-effective solutions and pride ourselves on repairing 71% of fire doors upon inspection. We will only recommend replacing your fire doors if they are beyond repair and do not meet statutory requirements.

According to the British Woodwork Foundation (BWF) it is recommended that fire doors should be inspected at least every six months. However, high people traffic routes may need to inspected more often as damage is more likely to occur due to substantial use.

The leaf should be visually inspected to ensure that the door is positioned flush with the door frame. If the fire door leaf is bowed or if you can see deformity this should be reported as remedial work may be required. In some cases when a fire door is bowed of deformed as a new fire door may be required to be installed.

Another check that should be carried out is a visual inspection for fire door leaves that are veneered or lipped, these should be firmly glued in place.

And lastly, the visual inspection is required to ensure that there is no serious damage to such as dents, holes and deep chips.

The door frame must be visually inspected to ensure that it is securely fastened to the wall.

If there is a door stop, (which may be screwed or nailed) it should be inspected to ensure that it is firmly attached.

The intumescent door seals should be checked to ensure that they are in serviceable condition, they must be located inside the groove and the seal must be intact and unbroken around the frame.

The doors should open and close correctly and push bars and hinges must function correctly. Hinges and push bars must be free from metal splinters and fragments and checked for leaking oil. If fragments or oil is present it could indicate excessive wear.

The door should be checked to ensure that there is a threshold gap that is consistent to allow the fire door to move without touching the floor. The fire door closer should close automatically, the door should be opened to 75 mm or 5mm. The door should freely close and engage the latch.

The pivot arm should be checked to ensure that there is no obvious damage to the arm and the terminal fixings. If the fire door is unlatched, then the door closer should hold the door in line with the frame and the intumescent seal.

Where electronic holding opening devices are installed there is normally a switch or release button which should be operated to ensure that it functions correctly.

The glass or fire resistant glazing should be visually checked for signs of cracks and damage. The glazing beads should also be inspected for damage and that they are secured to the frame.

The responsible person must ensure that emergency routes are kept clear at all times to ensure that they are safe to use in an emergency situation.

The fire doors should not be locked, fastened or propped open. If this is the case it should be reported immediately.