Fire Exits

I am after a solution. We have 3 fire exit doors that lead out onto a roof. the tenants keep going on to the roof. The previous management company decided to lock these doors with FB1 keys, which is wrong according to the fire risk assessment. Is there a reasonable and easy solution to this by keeping these doors as fire escapes without tenants going through them. Kind Regards Sean

I am confused by external doors that would be used in the case of fire. Are all external doors emergency doors or do they become so as soon as an illuminated exit sign is fitted to any potential door that leads to the outside?

I was emailing to ask for advice. We are a small charity with a hall at the back of our building which we hire for private functions to raise funds for our services. The hall currently has 3 fire exits with one being at the back of the hall with access to a garden and a pathway to the front of the building. This fire door is a double fire door which is operated by push bars. We currently have it alarmed so upon unauthorised exit the alarm will sound. Our licensing agreement for the property prevents us from using the garden for hired events as our garden backs onto a residential area. However although we have the doors alarmed unfortunately we still have a lot of trouble …

Hi everyone, came across this forum whilst looking for regulations on fire exits but all the documentation fried my brain and left me not much wiser really. I need to find out how far away from a fire exit you can have an obstruction externally. We have a fire exit door from our commercial premises and we need to install an oil tank outside the building, we have been told my a plumber that we are ok to install an oil tank in the mentioned area but I wanted to clarify before we go ahead with anything. As soon as you're out from a fire exit, how many metres, if any, have got to be left as a clear path? I'm in Wales if that makes any difference. Any help woul…

I am the superintendent at a new pharmacy in a new surgery. We have 2 entrances one at the front of the pharmacy and one at the rear. The rear entrance is a fire door and is next to the car park so deliveries are made through this door and the staff enter and exit also through this door. The patients only have access through the front door which has a shutter which is closed at night ( it is therefore only an aperture during working hours). My question is it is acceptable to use the fire door as we are doing for staff coming and going and for deliveries? Secondly as it opens outward onto a pathway is it permissible to put self closing hinges to prevent hitting a patient a…

I have an offer on a property, a four bedroom Victorian Townhouse. In the loft conversion that is being used for bedroom is a small fire hatch that enters next doors property. This is a security risk. What can be done about this and can it be blocked up now. Kind Regards David

Hi, I work at a dental surgery and we were previously told by a fire officer that a ground floor window was a secondary fire exit. All fire exit doors already have the appropriate signage. Is it necessary to use such signage and lighting on all accessible ground floor windows which may be considered secondary fire exits? I would be grateful for your advice. Many Thanks, Niamh

Hi - I'm a volunteer with a charity. We need to instal a fire door in a disabled toilet , and it must be a sliding door or any other design that does not block the fire exit route. Have you any advice, especially about the ease with which wheelchair users can open such a door. Thanks and regards Chris

hi, I just want some advice about a Council owned block, its a maisonette. there is a door way that has been drilled shut with screws, people class it as a fire exit door way but there's no signs on it that shows its an actual fire exit and also it leads into the corridors. and there are fire exit doors that lead into the corridors near the stairs. I just want to know if it is an actually fire exit, you have to have a key to open it from the outside but ther's a turning handle where you can open it from the other side, is it the law to have fire exit signs on a fie exit door, if there's no signs does that mean its not one? all people just use this area door way for is n…

Hello, I work in an office with a labelled fire door, leading to the only escape route, but the door is kept locked when we are in the office and the key is kept in a code-locked key-safe to which only 2 people know the code (and no- one who works in the room in question). I'm hoping you can tell me if this is legal or not - I assume not. Many thanks.

Just a small concern, We have used push bar panic bars on a site, (an assisted living care) We have used green bars, as I understand it this is correct as they are to stand out. Is this correct? Thanks

Nightclub with a metal fire escape. Fire doors are propped open every night and customers use them to go down to smoking area and back up into club. Is this permitted? Any relevant regulations.

THE DAYHOME MY DAUGHTER GOES TO HAS LATCHES ON THE OUTSIDE OF BEDROOM DOORS, I'M A LITTLE FREAKED OUT AND WAN TO KNOW IF THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD?

Hi, I'm wondering if you would know the answer to this. We work in a building where many people (deliveries, etc) mistakenly come to the fire-exit door, knock and wait. There's no handle but a hit-pad and we're a bit concerned we might end up damaging the mechanism through repeated non-essential use. We'd like to put a fire-exit sign on the outside but aren't sure if there are any rules we need keep to (size, design, etc) as it isn't to inform people inside of an escape route but to inform people outside they're at the wrong door. It would be nice to be able to use something a little more discreet like a brass plaque as it is an old building but we are not sure if that …

is my back door a fire exit, I live alone and have been told by my landlord that I am in breach because my back door is not clear.my back door has a screen door and two locks, this I find odd being a fire exit, please can you advise me.

I live in a maisonette with a shop below. I have only one entrance/exit to my house. There is a communal walkway for access to my house along with a rear fire exit for the shop. The problem is when the shop open their fire exit it completely blocks the passageway making it impossible to get past. Surely from a h&s point of view this can't be legal. As if there was a fire we could potentially be blocked in our house. Thanks for any help Joe

A complex problem which has me pulling my hair out! Please excuse the pre-amble but essential. I bought an ex public county council property it's only land is an enclosed area 10-12ft wide to the side, our access passes down our path and through our heavy gate onto the street. The other side of this land is the side wall of the Parish Hall, a few years ago they put in a side exit door (solid)without planning permission, opening directly onto our land, they also have a gate at the back of their building that opens onto our land. We have challenged the side door and gate, and in order to defend them and to gain popular approval, they have claimed these doors are fire exit…

Is it ok to only use the top latch on a verticle panic device if it is in a fire wall? Or is it required to have both top and bottm latches positively latching?

I'm currently carrying out some work on a restaraunt, and have had a bit of a disagreement with the client about the stair case.. The building is quite old, and has been used as a restaraunt for quite some time, so this is just a refurb and not change of use. The entrance door opens in to a wine bar area, with a 1/2 hour fire door opening onto the stairs. On the half landing there is a door leading onto a fire escape to the rear of the property. The stairs then lead onto the first floor, straight into the main restaraunt area, with two double doors immediately to the left of the stairs leading to the kitchen. Originally the stairs carried on to the flat above, but the…

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone could help. I am looking into opening up a new bar in Congleton, Cheshire and I need some advice on fire regs. The building is an ld restaurant over three floors. we would only be using the ground floor with has two entrances on either side. We wanted to position the bar on the back wall which would be infront of one of the entrances. This door leads to a cellar type area and then outside to the street, There is also a front entrance with an existing fire exit sign. Really what I need to know is whether I need to have both doors publically accessible or whether I can have one for staff and deliveries only. If none of this makes sense I …

Hi all, I hope you can help me. We have a small community centre which has one main door and one fire exit door. Currently the fire exit door is also being used as a normal entry/exit door as well (which I understand is fine). The fire exit door has push bars. We would like to upgrade the fire exit door (in fact replace it!) with one with door buzzer/camera on the outside. That way access via this door can be granted remotely from an intercom once person has been identified. I am thinking of electronic fail open locks for this (which we would lock manually overnight when no one is in the building). The other concern is that we no longer want push bars on the i…

Hello Im looking to extend my childcare business by moving the out of school club upstairs in our premises. If I did this it would mean there were only windows and the one stairwell downstairs. Is this sufficient for fire escapes? If not, what would it require please? We open 07:30 til 18:00 mon to fri, for ages 4 - 14. Thank You Nicola

Hi,I walk in a large technical site which has 3 designated fire doors which are also used as a daily entrance/exit doors. As the place I work is a technical site,security is of the upmost importance and entry is strictly limited and entrance is by way of a card. One of the doors has developed a fault which means it does not automatically lock,this is being investigated,but meanwhile it has been manually locked. My query is whether this falls foul of the law,I will state there are 2 other exits closer to the offices.

Hi, I was looking at the building code and regulations regarding fire safety in mind as I am looking to lease a small retail shop and wanted to know more about number of exits required for basement levels for public use. The shop is not large at all, about 11ft x 27ft with an stair leading down to the basement with a head height of no more than 6'2" once you're in the basement. I did have a look at non-domestic fire escapes in basements and it said I need two 'storey exits'. Does that mean if I had 2 staircases in the internal shop that would suffice, or does it need to be two external exits i.e. like a cellar door? Alternatively, if I didn't use the basement as public …

I have an enquire regarding new windows that Southwark Council have put in my property and I worry that these do not fulfill fire safety regulations. I was under the impression that windows installed into a property had to meet some sort of fire regulations. The reason I am questioning this is because last year four people died in a block of flats in Southwark and the windows were said not to meet fire regulations as they melted within 10 seconds when the regulations stated it has to be a minimum of a minute. The council deny this is a regulation. Please can you let me know if there are fire regulations for councils installing windows in the UK. Many Than…