Housing legislation has seen major upheavals over the past decade, as various governments have wielded the nation’s lettings landscape as a political battle-axe.
However, following the Grenfell Tragedy, it was clear that a major overhaul into fire safety regulations were needed.
If you are new to the world of passive fire protection, the everchanging landscape and sheer scale of regulatory mountains to navigate can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be confusing.
It’s key to understand what’s relevant, why it is so important and how to stay compliant (and therefor safe). Let’s break it down:
What exactly is a Fire Door?
We’ve discussed the difference between a Fire Door, and your common or garden standard door here, but as a refresher, let’s clarify.
A fire door is a specially designed, tested, and certified door that helps slow the spread of fire and smoke between specific compartments in a building. It’s a life-saving safety feature, but it only works properly if it’s installed and maintained exactly to standard (and if it’s kept closed, one of our BIGGEST BUGBEARS)!
That need for proper installation and maintenance is where the hefty amount of legislation around installation and maintenance comes in. Not any old Tom, Dick or Harry can fit a fire door, and for good reason – they’re an important safety feature and we want to be able to rely on the best! And of course, there’s the need for a paper trail to explain exactly how the door is fitted, and maintained. We understand that forms and paperwork can feel frustrating, but if keeping compliant means the difference between life and death, well, it puts a little bit of admin into perspective, right?
The key regulations
There are some key pieces of legislation that govern the fire door world:
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
AKA the RRO. The Big Daddy of fire safety laws in England and Wales, the RRO places a legal duty on the ‘responsible person’ (usually the building owner, landlord, or employer) to ensure that fire doors are safe, suitable, and maintained properly.
For installers like us, this means the responsible people are relying on us to supplying certified doors, and install and maintaining them correctly, according to manufacturer’s guidance. If we fail, the responsible person fails too, and for them, the consequences are significant. Ensuring that we are able to support all of our partners in being fully compliant with the RRO is key.
Fire Safety Act 2021
Brought in post-Grenfell, this Act clarified that fire risk assessments must cover external walls and all entrance doors to individual flats in multi-occupancy buildings.
Investigation carried out by the Metropolitan Police in 2018 concluded that the fire doors installed in the fated tower only held back the blaze for 15 minutes, instead of the 30 minutes that they were designed to withhold. Whether due to poor maintenance or shoddy installation, it is impossible to say, however it is clear that the 2021 legislation has put fire doors in residential blocks under the spotlight, and rightly so.
Fire Safety (England) Regulation 2022
Introduced in January 2023 and affecting all multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres tall, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 is significant.
It demands that quarterly checks on communal fire doors and annual checks on flat entrance doors are carried out by a competent person.
A competent person is someone with the training, knowledge, and experience to carry out a task safely and correctly – we pride ourselves on having this, and our certification from BM TRADA, a globally recognised certification body shows that we’re not just tooting out own horn, either!
Building Regulations: Part B (Fire Safety)
Building Regulations set the design and construction standards, including where fire doors must be used (between a garage and house, in escape routes, and in some residential and commercial settings).
Working closely with architects, project managers and clients to understand their fire management plans and how the door is going to have to perform is crucial for proper installation, and we’re never shy when it comes to asking ‘are you sure?’
We’re fully accredited and provide comprehensive fire door compliance services across London. Whether you manage a single flat or an entire portfolio, we’ll help ensure your doors meet all legal and safety requirements.
Contact the team today to discuss how we can help.