Simple Five Step Fire Door Check
Fire Doors are critical when it comes to slowing the spread of fire and smoke. As part of the annual Fire Door Safety Week, the British Woodworking Federation has created a five step guide to help everyone identify a faulty or poorly maintained fire door. Don't walk by, if you suspect your fire door is damaged or poorly maintained stop and check, you could save a life.
1. Certification
What to check – Look for a label or plug on top of (or occasionally on the side) of the door. As stickers can come off, our doors are fitted with a plug. If you can’t see a sticker or a plug then report it to whoever manages or owns the building.
Q Bowater Doors’ fire doors feature a plug.
2. Gaps
For wooden fire doors, check the gaps around the top of the door are consistently less than 4mm when the door is closed, a £1 coin is around 3mm thick so you can use this to help scale the size of any gaps. This is to make sure that smoke and fire can’t escape through the cracks. Occasionally the gap under the fire door can be up to 8mm but if you are unsure, report it.
Our fire door product is a composite fire door in a specialist fire frame with air gaps of 4mm as standard. The tolerance on these is +1mm / – 2mm. If in doubt check with whoever manages or owns the building.
3. Seals
Look for intumescent seals which should be located around the door or frame. FireShield Bowater’s fire door features white intumescent seals around the frame and black around all hardware and components such as letterboxes as well as glazing for additional protection.
These seals expand and seal the door when they are exposed to heat to prevent the spread of fire and smoke.
Ensure that there is no damage to the seals and that they are all present. If in doubt, report it.
4. Hinges
Fire doors should have at least three hinges. It’s important to check that all the screws are in place and undamaged. Simply open the door and check all are in good working order. Fire door maintenance is as important as the manufacture and installation. If you have any worries, report it.
For added protection, Bowater’s fire door has four hinges.
5. Is the door closing properly?
Check that the door closes firmly without sticking to the floor or frame and the latch engages. A fire door will only work properly if it is closed. Our fire doors are fitted with automatic closers so simply open the door halfway and check to see it fully closes. You should never prop open a fire door, a fire door that isn’t closed properly will not save lives. Bowater’s fire door is supplied with an AV2 slam shut lock that automatically engages and locks the door to ensure that when the door is closed it is ready to perform in the event of a fire.
This information was provided by the British Woodworking Federation and you can view their full infographic here
Additional points were added that are specific to our range of fire doors.
Find out more about FireShieldWatch the video to find out more
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