The team from 4site Consulting fill us in on the new requirements set out in the Government’s proposed Fire Safety Bill.

In March 2020, the Government introduced proposals for a Fire Safety Bill that will make changes to the 2005 Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order.

The changes proposed will affect all managed residential blocks located in Great Britain (excluding Scotland). Properties that the Bill will concern include residential blocks of any size that are considered sleeping arrangement; for example, blocks of flats, student accommodation, hotels and hostels.  

One of the most crucial updates outlined in the Bill is that Residents Management Companies and Managing Agents will now have a clearer legal obligation to ensure that residents’ entrance doors are suitable and sufficient fire doors. In this article, we will discuss what makes a fire door sufficient and what you, as an RMC Director or Property Manager, need to be doing to comply with the law. 

We start by discussing Fire Door Inspections…

Fire Door Inspections

As an RMC Director or Property Manager, you need to ensure that all Leaseholders’ fire doors leading onto escape routes are, and remain, sufficiently Fire Rated. When the Fire Safety Bill is passed, one of the critical changes will be that you can no longer rely on residents to inspect their own doors.

Legally, you must ensure that routine Fire Door Inspections are taking place and that records for this are being held. Importantly, you should select a competent Fire Risk Assessor to carry out the inspection and you should act on any remedial work that is suggested.

What does a Fire Door Inspection Entail?

Some of the things that a Fire Door Inspector will be looking for when inspecting your doors include:

• Hinges – They will check if there are three hinges fitted, which bear the CE mark and that no screws are missing.
• Gaps – The door should fit the frame, so the Inspector will be checking for any large gaps around the door that may breech compartmentation.
• Glazing – If the door has a glazed panel(s), the Inspector will be looking to see that the glass is either Georgian wired or has a special fire-resistant glazing fitted.
• Self-closing – The Inspector will be checking for either an overhead door closer or a jamb closer.

These are just some of the many things that are considered, they will also be ensuring that the door has an intumescent strip/seal. This is a piece of material fitted around a doorway that, when exposed to heat, expands closing any gaps around the door to stop the fire spreading for a period of time. Furthermore, all door-sets should meet the FD30s standard which essentially means that they should be providing 30 minutes of protection. In most cases, 30 minutes of protection is enough, however, it is important to note that there are some instances where a 60 minute or 120-minute fire door might be necessary.

The Inspector should record their findings and present it to the client, which the client should then store in a safe place.

Can a Fire Door Inspection be Carried Out at the Same Time as Our Fire Risk Assessment?

Whilst a Fire Risk Assessor will comment on doors as far as they can during a Health, Safety and Fire Risk Assessment, access to the full door set is required for a full inspection. 

This is usually only possible through communication with tenants or leaseholders as the whole door set will need to be accessed. 

Tenants will likely need to be available in order for the Risk Assessor to gain access to the door- we recommend that you give them enough notice to be available.

To answer the question, in order to fully inspect the doors a Fire Door Inspection should be arranged separate to the Fire Risk Assessment. However, this can usually be carried out on the same day as your Fire Risk Assessment.

For further details on Fire Door requirements, or to get in touch, please visit our website.