Neil ashdown

Hi, Thanks for your post. I am very concerned to hear about the work done to the fire doors fitted at your flat. The building owner and contractor 'may be' in very serious breach of the Fire Safety Order and you should seek formal advice from the local Fire Service. If a fire breaks out while asleep the risk of death due to smoke inhalation is great. Therefore fire doors in this type of situation should have smoke seals fitted to the top and both long edges of the fire door or frame and they must be in constant contact with the door edges and frame when the door is closed. A self closer should be fitted. At the bottom of the door, the maximum gap between the floor and the bottom edge of the door should be 3mm - YES 3mm !!! That is about the thickness of a pound coin. Ideally a drop down threshold seal should be fitted. If you have fire and smoke resisting doors fitted at your flat building and the clearance between the floor and the bottom of the door has been increased by cutting or planing the door down as you say then the smoke protection offered has now been negated and should be put right without delay. If I were resident in these flats I would take action without delay. Regards, Neil Ashdown Fire Door Inspection Scheme London. WC1E 7BT

Hi, Fire doors are generally made to a specific size to fit a fire door frame and its important to make sure the door and frame are both fire rated otherwise you cannot be confident that they will perform in the event of a fire. The correct option is to purchase new fire doors with a ready installed vision panel. Insist on a 'BWF Certifire' door and you must fit them according to the instructions supplied with the doors as tolerances are critical to performance. Hope this helps. Regards, Neil.

Of course, there is an argument that says a certificated fire door-set is the preferable option because all components are supplied by one source.......

Building owners and employers have been prosecuted for fire safety breaches such as these. That should act a motivator!!! Regards, Neil.

Hi Tom, Yes, what I have said above applies to fire door leaves. Its important to choose a certificated fire door and then make sure that the other components of the fire door assembly are compatible for use with that door. Certificated fire doors come with instructions and your supplier is able to provide certification so that you can check compatibility and install accordingly. You can check its a certificated fire door by finding the label on the top edge of the door (make sure you leave the label in place so others can check its a fire door). That way you have made best efforts to replicate the fire test evidence for the door (and replicating test evidence is the only way to be confident your fire door will provide the correct fire integrity rating in a fire situation). Regards, Neil.