From: Simon Beer, Managing Director,
Bluesky Certification

I’m writing in response to the article from The Door & Hardware Federation published in The Glazine last week, calling for a change in Building Regulations to enforce the use of complete doorsets in fire compartmentation in multi-occupancy buildings. Although I welcome their push on third party certification, we don’t need to wait for the legislation to change.

These changes could have been put in place before Grenfell, but six months after the disaster, they should happen as urgently as possible. I believe the industry should decide to go down the third-party certification route voluntarily. There’s even a precedent for it, as third-party certification is recommended in the Building Regulations already.

Currently, we are in a ludicrous situation whereby someone fitting an external non-fire window or door must either have inspection by a Building Control Body, or be a member of a CPS to fit it. But anyone can fit an internal fire door, or run services through a fire compartment wall, with no inspections or qualifications being required. It’s especially worrying, because if a fire door doesn’t perform properly, it’s potentially life threatening, as we have seen too many times recently.

Choosing third party certification protects everyone. Not just the people who live in the buildings, but also the manufacturers and installers. As a certification provider I see it’s often the small things that go wrong. For example, incorrectly sealing the gap between the frame and surrounding brickwork can effectively remove the fire resistance, and it’s this type of error that can get overlooked without external monitoring.

Right now, we can act without legislation, by choosing as an industry to adhere to voluntary code of practice.