How often does your block management company inspect your fire doors?
It is a legal requirement for responsible persons, for all multi-occupied residential buildings in England, over 11m in height to carry out annual checks of all flat entrance doors, including self-closing doors, that lead to common areas of a building. There should be quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts of a building.
What is checked in a Fire Door Inspection Survey?
A comprehensive visual inspection of each fire-resisting door would include:
- Overall condition of the fire doors and their fire-resisting qualities
- Assessment of the gaps between door and frame, and the leaf and frame, plus the suitability threshold
- A check of the fire door closing devices and their ability to close effectively and the speed at which they close.
- An inspection of the intumescent strips and smoke seals, their suitability and condition.
- Condition of hinges plus the fitting and operation of the hinges and hardware. This also includes fire-resisting qualities of the hinges.
- Notional assessment and confirmation of either FD30, FDS30, FD60 or FDS60.
- Letterbox assessment and suitability of fire characteristics.
- Assessment and suitability of fire door signage.
- Glazing and surround glazing assessment, or notional assessment.
- Glazed borrowed light assessment either by etchings or notional assessment.
- Door frame condition assessment.
- Door jam condition assessment.
- Assessment and condition of handle and door furniture
- A check of the condition and operation of any hold-open devices
- A check for relevant markings, to identify the fire rating of the door set
- An inspection of the locks and latches to ensure they are operational
- An inspection of any vision panels and glazing, and a review to their suitability
- An inspection of the cold smoke seals
- An assessment of the fire-resisting qualities of the door set, including its thickness; the frame, the door leaf and a review of materials used.
If you would like to know more about how we manage our properties or how we ensure they are inspected regularly, please get in touch.