Vibrant Colours and Fabulous Designs: Revamp Your Door

Are Your Doors Making Your Building Unsafe?

When your building benefits from a fire door, you're already taking a positive step toward keeping its occupants safe. However, you can still fail your annual fire safety assessment if your fire doors have certain faults. Here are some you need to be aware of.

Large Gaps

A fire door that is tightly sealed can prevent fire from spreading and reduce the amount of fatal smoke that passes through it. Looking at your fire door, you may not feel as though a large gap is there. However, even a seemingly small gap can render it dangerous. As gaps also allow oxygen to pass through, and oxygen acts as fuel for a fire, you need to reduce yours as soon as you can. Such gaps are more likely to occur in areas where the material can warp. For example, wood can warp in response to hot and humid conditions.

Faulty Seals

One of the most beneficial functions of a fire door is that it comes with an expandable seal. In response to the heat that fire gives off, those seals expand and keep people on the other side safe. The expansion of the seals prevents smoke and fire from passing through to the next area. They also prevent oxygen from moving in the other direction and adding fuel to the fire. If your annual fire safety statement reveals that the seals are inadequate, you need to replace them asap. Fortunately, this may not mean replacing the door itself.

Incorrect Hinges

Incorrect or faulty hinges can make an otherwise flawless fire door fail an assessment. Before your statement is due, check to see if the hinges feature all the screws they need. You may also want to tighten them and test them to ensure you can open and close the door easily. Unfortunately, if your hinges feature combustible materials then you may still fail an assessment. However, if it's only the hinges that are causing an issue, you'll only need to find suitable ones in order to render the door safe.

Unclear Signage

Not many people can recognise a fire door by sight alone. While you may know exactly where they are in your building, a lot of your workforce may not. Your signage needs to indicate that the door in question must be kept closed at all times. Before you request an annual fire safety statement, try to determine what signage is necessary and make sure you have it in place before an inspection begins.

For more information on an annual fire safety statement, contact a professional near you.