DHF calls for compulsory doorsets after Grenfell
5th December 2017

The Door & Hardware Federation is calling for a change in Building Regulations to enforce the use of complete doorsets in fire compartmentation in multi-occupancy buildings.

 Fire doors are one of the most important and effective elements of a building’s passive fire protection, with more than three million being installed in the UK each year, says the organisation, but if fire doors are not compliant, the compartmentation of the building is compromised and can result in serious consequences.

The organisation is calling for complete doorsets to be used that are manufactured and certified by a 3rd party accreditation scheme, installed by a 3rd party accredited installer and maintained by a 3rd party accredited company.  And the organisation is urging the UK government to adopt and enforce a mandatory requirement for all fire doors to be complete doorsets.

Federation CEO, Bob Perry, explained: “There are many crucial components of fire doors that distinguish them from conventional doors …but if just one of these components fails due to poor maintenance or damage, the effectiveness of the door can be severely reduced. 

Problems also arise in ensuring the various components of a fire-resisting door assembly are compatible and correctly assembled.  The benefit of using complete doorsets is that they are manufactured and supplied as a complete unit with the frame, the leaf and all the associated hardware having been tested and certified together.  This eliminates the risk of non-compatibility between the various components.”

 The Federation’s recommendations come in the wake of a number of recent tragedies involving fire, particularly the Grenfell disaster which resulted in the loss of 71 lives.  Failure to adhere to proper safety regulations can not only result in loss of life, but in legal implications.  Earlier this year, Southwark Council was fined £570,000 following a fire at a 14-storey block of flats in South London in 2009 where six people died, including three children.  Following the tragedy, inspectors visiting the premises discovered several structural and safety flaws, including breaches of fire-resistant structures between each maisonette staircase and the common internal doors, a lack of compartmentation in the false ceiling structures of common corridors, and a failure to provide fitted intumescent strips (which swell when heated) and smoke seals on fire doors.

www.dhfonline.org.uk