Why Fire Door Inspections Are Essential
Fire doors are a critical part of your building’s fire safety strategy. They help contain fire and smoke, protect escape routes, and save lives. But they only work if they’re properly maintained and inspected.
Under UK law, including the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the responsible person must ensure fire doors are in good working order. For certain buildings, regular inspections are now mandatory—such as quarterly checks for communal doors and annual checks for flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres high
Fire Door Testing Frequency
Residential Buildings
Residential buildings over 11 metres
-
Quarterly checks of all fire doors in communal areas
-
Annual checks of flat entrance doors leading to common parts
Commercial Buildings
Commercial buildings and workplaces
-
Recommended every 6 months under best practice and British Standard BS 9999:2017
-
More frequent checks for high-traffic areas (e.g., corridors, schools, hospitals) – typically every 3 months
Fire Door Testing
Fire doors are tested to ensure they provide effective fire and smoke resistance for a specified duration (e.g., FD30 or FD60). In the UK, the current standards for fire door testing are:
-
BS 476 Part 22 – The established British Standard for assessing fire resistance of non-loadbearing elements, including fire doors.
-
BS EN 1634-1 – The European Standard adopted in the UK for testing complete doorsets for fire and smoke performance.
Fire Door Inspection
Regular inspections are essential to maintain fire door effectiveness. The current British Standards and legal requirements include:
-
BS 9999:2017 – Recommends fire doors in commercial properties be inspected at least every six months.
-
BS 8214 – Provides guidance on installation and maintenance of timber-based fire doors, including inspection best practices.
-
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 – Requires quarterly checks of communal fire doors and annual checks of flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings over 11m.