Fire Door Inspections
Fire Door Inspections – Legal Requirements and Compliance
Fire door inspections are a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. These regulations place a duty on the Responsible Person to ensure that all fire doors are regularly inspected, properly maintained, and fully compliant with current fire safety standards.
In residential buildings over 11 metres in height, communal fire doors must be inspected at least every three months, and flat entrance doors at least annually. Fire doors must remain in effective working order, with any defects identified through inspection addressed through appropriate remediation or replacement.
Lost in the Jargon
Even the jargon alone can send property owners into a frenzy of confusion and panic with questions like “am I, or am I not, already meeting these requirements?” and “how do I even find out?” “Who can I trust to fully know the law and help me understand my legal obligations and the repercussions if I’m not meeting these?” “Who is the responsible person?” and “how do I find a competent person to carry out my Fire Door Inspections?”
We will make sense of all the noise around latest buzz words concerning fire safety and break these down into easy to understand terminology. When we describe these in their most basic form and give advice accordingly our clients can soon see how any problem areas can be overcome.
Accreditations
At Alcema Fire Safety, we provide professional fire door inspection, installation, and remediation services in accordance with current legislation and industry best practice. As a BlueSky accredited contractor, our work is independently certified, giving clients confidence that inspections and remedial works are carried out competently, consistently, and in full compliance with regulatory requirements.
Our accreditation demonstrates that our processes, competency, and quality assurance meet recognised third-party standards. This provides a clear audit trail and assurance that fire doors will perform as intended in the event of a fire, protecting lives, property, and ensuring compliance with legal obligations.
We support clients throughout the full process, from initial inspection and reporting through to remediation, installation, and final certification.
Type of Work Covered
We make assessments on properties across all sectors and of any size and type. In addition to assessing existing sites we also assess new builds and provide construction advice regarding appropriate fire doors installation from the outset.
22 Point Check
Each inspection follows a full line of enquiry concerning a ‘22 point check’ to make sure absolutely every door and component part is assessed. This will include assessing the mechanics and material of the door and checking ironmongery meets the current standards, checking the gaps between the hinges are the correct distance apart and that sufficient heat and smoke seals are in place and checking the correct markings are in place for doors which feature fire rated glass.
The assessment also includes checking that the entire installation of the door set is fully compliant. Many clients have been shocked to find having spent a great deal on buying new fire doors the actual installation has still left them non-compliant. Often we have been left amazed at how often high quality doors have been purchased but fitted so poorly to deem a client at risk of failure to comply.
There are many other points included in the ‘22 Point Check’ but the resounding feedback from every client is based on an appreciation for the way we educate them, making sense and simplifying their legal obligations and showing a clear way forward for compliancy.
Implementation
Once a report is produced often clients continue to feel lost as they have no idea who to approach to get the remediation works carried out to the same high quality as the assessments were made. If requested we can make suggestions of approved contractors who could undertake the work.
Building Ongoing Relationships
Following the assessment, our service becomes a periodic event as the latest legislation states fire door checks are required at regular intervals. To help you stay fully compliant ongoingly we issue reminders to help you stay well ahead of certification expiry dates and we enjoy returning to clients and helping to keep them compliant.
We will also return to site to re-check your doors to ensure that any maintenance has been carried out satisfactorily.
Recommendations
Our guiding ethos revolves around offering clients absolute peace of mind by delivering the pinnacle of expertise and professionalism. We are convinced that it is this approach, coupled with our company values, that underlines are exceptional volume of recommendations and referrals.
Being independent, we assure you that our focus is solely on identifying issues that could lead to non-compliance, as well as providing advisories that bring advantages without being mandatory. Our primary goal is to safeguard our clients rather than searching for faults that could result in undue expenses.
