How frequently are fire door inspections carried out? The answer to that question varies from person to person, often because of a lack of clarity in the law. Some believe that fire door inspections are required annually with the fire risk assessment. Others claim that fire door inspections are not required at all.

The relevant laws

The 2005 Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order in England and Wales states that the person responsible for fire safety must ensure that all fire safety measures and fire doors are in a serviceable condition. The order does not stipulate the frequency with which fire doors should be inspected. In British Standards there are recommendations pertaining to the frequency of fire door inspections. In Scotland, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 outlines that responsible persons must appoint competing persons to inspect fire doors.

In regard to flatted developments, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 states that the responsible person must carry out a routine inspection of communal fire doors once every three months. In addition, they must also carry out a routine inspection of flat entrance doors once every twelve months. In respect to both communal and flat entrance doors, residents must be provided information in regard to the purpose of fire doors.

Everything else

BS 9999 states that an annual fire door inspection is a legal requirement for all non-domestic premises. However, it states that six months is a more appropriate period for the inspection of fire doors in high-usage conditions, i.e. doorsets leading to school corridors and hospital wards and landings.

What your fire risk assessment states for your premises are the legal requirements. If your assessment only states “fire doors are to be maintained”, then you are within your rights to request the fire door assessor to provide more detail.

What is required is a basic understanding of what a fire door looks like, what the components of the doorset are, and what is expected of the door and doorset in order to perform its function.

The components of a door and doorset and what to look for during an inspection

The door should fully close and latch without any obstructions. If the door latch is not fully closed, it is failing in its purpose. The door should be evenly held in its frame. Intumescent strips and smoke seals should be in place and not painted over. Door hinges should not be missing their screws. Any glass in the door should not be obstructed and broken. There should be a label on the door or door frame indicating the manufacturer and/or the test house that conducted the testing.

What inspectors find most is what people cause. For example, a coat hook has been hung in place of a fire door. The door may have been closed, but the fire door was removed because it was too heavy to close. Or perhaps the door was too wide and a trim was placed over the new carpet, blocking the clear opening.

Who is qualified?

Staff can perform the basic checks of fire doors in the flats they manage. However, only a person qualified and authorized by a fire safety certification scheme should perform a thorough inspection. Staff should document the findings of the fire door inspection and take corrective action to repair or replace the door.

When is an Extra Inspection Required?

Extra inspections are warranted after any alterations to the use or occupancy of the building, or changes to the door itself. Contractors’ temporary modifications to doors to facilitate the installation of electric or magnetic locks or card readers are very common and compromises the fire safety measure.

Always begin with a list of fire doors, in the order of their number in the building. The quality of an inspection schedule is only as good as the list it uses.