Shining a Spotlight on Fire Door Safety

Fire safety should be an important consideration when specifying for any construction project, be it a new build development or refurbishment job. However, in light of recent tragic events it’s clear that it’s not always at the top of the priority list when selecting fit-for-purpose products.

Here, Brett Evans, Technical Director for Door Hardware for Yale, discusses the importance of understanding fire safety regulations as well as why Yale has signed up to support Fire Door Safety Week this September.

Yale has pledged its support for the upcoming Fire Door Safety week, an initiative designed to raise awareness of the critical role of fire doors and aims to minimise casualties caused by fire. The campaign is engaging and educating people about importance of fire safety and correct specification. However, fire door safety should be a key industry issue all year round.

Brett Evans, Technical Director
for Door Hardware for Yale

Research has revealed that in 2015, fire accounted for 16% of domestic property damage*. What’s more, a large proportion of these could have been prevented as the Fire Door Inspection Scheme noted that 61% of doors had fire or smoke seals either missing, installed incorrectly or not filling perimeter gaps correctly**.

These shocking statistics highlight the importance of installing compliant products to ensure residents safety and satisfy your duty of care to customers.

Effective fire doors should ensure rooms are compartmented, to help keep fire and smoke in the area in which it starts, to protect residents and escape routes.

According to BS9999:2017, fire doors should be inspected every six months to ensure they are correctly maintained, with the Regulatory Reform Order: 2015 placing this obligation with the person responsible for the building.

Yale has a wide range of door hardware specifically designed to help building owners and contractors ensure they meet or exceed the required fire safety standards. For example, fire safety guidance states that you should not need to be searching for a key to exit a property during a fire, recommending thumbturn cylinders be installed for safer access.

The high security, Yale Platinum 3 Star cylinder is available with a thumbturn variant enhancing safety for users while also providing a trusted level of security that is synonymous with Yale.

The Yale portfolio also includes the Yale AutoSecure – a multi-point locking system that can assist with gaining fire safety accreditation.

The lock can be instrumental in achieving FD60 and when coupled with a thumb turn cylinder, such as the Platinum 3 Star, this makes for an easy action to open external doors from the inside without the need for keys. This gives peace of mind that residents can exit a building safely in the event of a fire.

For privately rented, council, social housing and commercial buildings, the Lockmaster panic door system from Yale offers the advantage of high performance security and compression, together with accredited emergency egress capability. To complete the doorset, the Yale Firemaster letterplate has been FD30 tested and is Certifire approved CF219.

Improved education is needed to raise awareness of the importance of fire door safety and the industry is now making steady inroads to improve specification for the future. That’s why Yale is joining the cause to help bring fire safety to the forefront for specifiers, building contractors and end-users.

Fire Door Safety Week, which runs week commencing 25th September, will draw attention to specific issues within the fire door industry, such as poor installation and maintenance, and will encourage building owners and specifiers to be more proactive when checking the operation and condition of their current fire doors.

To find out more about Yale’s full range of fire safety products, please visit www.yaledws.co.uk or alternatively call 01902 366800. For product information and updates, follow us on Twitter @YaleDWS.

*Fire Door Safety Week
**Fire Door Inspection Scheme

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