Over recent years the block management industry has faced an influx of fire safety legislation and regulations including communal and flat fire doors.
So, what does the legislation say?
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005: Under Regulation 38, regardless of the building height regular documented audits must be conducted on all fire-resistant doors in the building and repeated to ensure the safety of occupants.
- The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: From January 23rd, 2023 responsible persons of all multi-occupied residential blocks in England with storeys over 11m must undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts plus annual checks of all flat entrance doors that lead into buildings common parts. This regulation further extends the responsibilities of the responsible person and clarifies the frequency of the checks for buildings over 11m.
How is Alexandre Boyes assisting clients stay compliant?
Alexandre Boyes work with clients to ensure each block has a fire door inspection (FDI) completed by a suitably qualified fire risk assessor annually in line with the usual fire risk assessment requirements. These FDI ensure all flat entrance doors and communal doors are inspected and that any necessary remedial measures are advised to the relevant leaseholder or client. In addition, in order to comply with the 2022 regulations, we arrange quarterly checks of all communal fire doors in blocks over 11m in height. This proactive approach ensures that clients stay compliant and provides peace of mind that the doors will do their job in the event of a fire.
What do the fire risk assessors look for when assessing a fire door?
Assessors follow the Government inspection guidelines to ensure all doors maintain a FD30 rating. This means in the event of a fire the doors would prevent the spread for 30 minutes allowing time for the fire brigade to ensure safe exit of all residents. FDI include checks for the following:
- Does the door close soundly against the frame?
- Are intumescent strips and/or smoke seals present and in good condition?
- Is the edge of the door or frame damaged?
- Does the latch engage properly?
- Are there any gaps larger than 3mm between the frame and the door?
- Is the gap at the bottom of the door greater than 10mm or 3mm on a smoke control door?
- Are there a minimum of three hinges and do they look in good condition?
- Does the door have the correct signage on it?
- If there is glazing in the door, does it look in good condition?
- Does the door closer (if fitted) close the door properly from all angles?
- Is the door wedged or stuck open?
How does this affect you as a client or a leaseholder?
Costs to check: As with any additional works, the cost of your annual fire risk assessment will increase to include the cost for the FDI and service charge budgets will need to be adjusted to accommodate.
Costs to repair: In most cases a flat’s entrance fire door is demised, meaning the repair and maintenance responsibility is the individual leaseholder’s. However, we recommend reading KDL Law’s Legal Update ‘Whose Door Is it Anyway’ and your individual lease before you instruct any works, as sometimes it is a little more complex.
How can Alexandre Boyes help with remedial works?
Remedial work needs to be carried out in a timely manner. Over the last year clients and leaseholders have struggled to find skilled tradesmen to carry out smaller projects. For Alexandre Boyes Kent and Sussex based blocks our in-house maintenance team provide different fixed cost options. Kevin Guthrie leads this project along with Mark Bryant whose work has passed inspection by fire risk assessors. Contact Kevin Guthrie if you need help with remedial works.
Helpful links: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022/fact-sheet-fire-doors-regulation-10 and https://www.fpc-uk.com/blog/understanding-the-new-fire-door-regulations/
As with all Alexandre Boyes blogs, these are intended to be a general overview of topical issues and should not be relied upon for formal purposes. Posted 16/2/2024
