When Should You Upgrade to Fire Doors?

Owning or managing a building that has fire doors installed is part of an overarching fire safety protocol that you are the person responsible for. There are many different aspects to fire safety, and it can change depending on the type and use of the building in question. There are different fire safety rules for domestic properties than there are for commercial and industrial properties, healthcare settings and other uses for buildings. A fire safety evaluation should be conducted once a year, at least, and it is during this evaluation period where the need for fire doors or the need to upgrade fire doors should be questioned. If the answer is yes, find a supplier of fire doors with experience, know-how and quality products to help enhance the fire safety procedures you have in place.

Owners of buildings and businesses have a legal obligation to ensure that the fire safety standard on their premises is completely up to scratch and that they meet stringent fire safety regulations and protocols. Where risk assessments take place on an annual basis, there should always be a discussion about whether the fire doors that are currently installed are in good shape. From there, a decision can be made as to whether they should be repaired, maintained or replaced altogether. Alongside your other fire safety measures, the integrity of the fire doors in situ is one of the most important aspects to consider.

The existing doors must be fit for purpose. Over the course of a year, or however long it has been between fire safety evaluations, a fire door may have become damaged for any number of reasons. It could also be that they are just purely old and out of date. Be as thorough as you possibly can be when reviewing fire doors, as it is crucial that they are fit for purpose in order to function correctly and save lives in the worst-case scenario.

To meet fire safety regulations a fire door must be the correct regulation for the location, building use and specific building regulations. It must also have intumescent strips in the door frame and be fitted perfectly within that frame. The fire door must meet the standards BS 476-22:1987 or BS EN 1634-1:2014 and there must be absolutely no wear and tear or damage present.

Another reason to upgrade your fire doors is where you may have recently moved to a brand-new property and taken the doors with you. The doors must meet the fire regulations of your new building, so always double check this.

If you are in the market to upgrade the fire doors at a building that you own or manage, it is essential that you have the support of a supplier of fire doors that match the specific requirements that you have. There is a need for much sturdier fire doors in some industrial and healthcare settings than there are within some commercial and domestic properties and you should always have a full grasp of the benefits of fire doors and the type of fire door and other fire safety equipment that you need for your specific building use and location. This is where expertise is vital in making the right choices now, to ensure that people are safe in the worst-case scenario where a fire has broken out in the building.