By kathrynhyde1Current and incoming legislation for fire doors below 11M – The Fire Safety [England] Regulations 2022
The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarifies that in any residential building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises falls within the scope of the Fire Safety Order, regardless of height, and as such do fall under the current – and incoming – fire door legislation and regulations.
Currently, the legislation regarding fire doors below 11 metres in height states that responsible persons have a duty to:
- Put in place general fire precautions in these buildings
- Make sure that all fire doors – including flat entrance doors – are capable of providing adequate protection.
The incoming legislation around fire doors is designed to prevent confusion and offer clear guidelines in regard to fire door safety in residential buildings. The changing legislation has come about as a result of investigations into fire door compliance and safety across the UK.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry noted that “Fire doors play an essential role in preventing or inhibiting the spread of smoke and toxic gases and in preserving the effective compartmentalisation”. Over the past few years, it has become clear that fire door safety is a matter of national importance: and this importance is demonstrated in the incoming regulations.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will make it a legal requirement from 23 January 2023 for responsible persons for all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with storeys over 11 metres in height to:
- Undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors (including self-closing devices) in the common parts
- Undertake – on a best endeavour basis – annual checks of all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) that lead onto a building’s common parts.
Responsible persons for residential buildings below 11 metres in height will keep their current responsibilities for fire door safety. On top of their current responsibilities, responsible persons for residential buildings, regardless of height, will also be required to provide residents with two or more sets of information on fire doors.
Resources:
https://fireengland.uk/quarterly-thematic-update-grenfell-tower-inquiry-phase-1/fire-doors
Despite the current and incoming legislation, there is estimated to be 30 million non-compliant fire doors in the UK alone.
Many non-compliance issues relate to oversize gaps which reduce the effectiveness of the Fire Door and represent a significant risk to people and property. However, a large number of non-compliant fire doors also have issues on the head and bottom of the door.
FrameFit is a fully tested solution addressing this huge non-compliance issue. Our solution fits directly to door frames to reduce gap sizes to meet current and incoming fire door regulations.
