I have fitted 1st floor fire, strips sides,top and bottom. I am now told that I need pads under the hinges, why? What their purpose???

It's all over kill....

The best resource for fire door hinges is the Code of Practice - Hardware for Fire & Escape Doors at  https://www.firecode.org.uk/Code_of_Practice_hardware_for_fire_and_escape_doors_issue_5.pdf

Page 26 paragraph 2.3.13 deals with intumescent protection for fitting to butt hinges.

I am the trustee of a church built in 1950. We have recently been told by a fire risk assessor that the hinges and screws and our firedoors should be changed to fire-rated equipment. The current hinges are brass but carry no markings. I have checked the doors and they all seem satisfactory to a nonexpert eye. Do these hinges really need to be changed?

Many thanks

Possibly not.

It is a myth that hinges for all fire doors necessarily need to be made from stainless steel and CE or UKCA marked in accordance with the relevant BS EN 1935 declaration of performance. The myth started because under product certification schemes the hinge specifications for timber-based fire doors state that hinges should be marked thus and fire door inspectors often appear not to recognise the fact that some fire doors are not manufactured under the scope of such schemes and that CE marking only became mandatory in the UK from 1st July 2013, under the Construction Products Regulations.

According to current UK Building Regulations (Approved Document B Appendix C Fire Doorsets) hinges for fire doors must be made from materials having a minimum melting point of 800 deg C. The melting point of Brass is commonly stated as between 900 and 930 deg C.

So long as the hinges are in good working condition, fitted correctly with suitable fixings and without defects that may adversely affect the peformance of the fire door they are acceptable and should not need to be replaced. If they are found to be defective they can be replaced with fire rated minimum Grade 11 CE or UKCA marked hinges to BS EN 1935, which of course are also available in Brass.

Edited May 7May 7 by Neil ashdown
To correct a spelling mistake.